MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 7A
Lied Center lures world-class acts
By Lauren Bristow
lbristow@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
With nearly 300 event days a year, the Lied Center has provided students and area residents with a variety of artistic performances since its opening in 1993.
Some of this season's performances have already included orchestras, ballets, musicals and nationally recognized speakers and performers.
Fred Pawlicki, the center's associate director, said this season was bringing acts that normally would only appear in big cities.
David Finckel, cello and Wu Han, piano
Upcoming shows include the Peking Opera at the end of the month, The Wynton Marsalis Septet, B.B. King and the Vagina Monologues.
March events
write some shows are sponsored by the center in conjunction with area merchants, outside promoters like Jade Presents of North Dakota bring high-profile performers such as Marsalis and King to the center. Pawlicki said this had been the most successful year in the center's history in attracting outside promoters.
Sunday, March 9
The Wynton Marsalis Septet
Thursday, March John Prine
Thursday, March 13
Olga Kern, piano Thursday, March 27
Friday, March 28
The Peking Opera
Trio Voronezh performs samples of Russian folk songs at the Kansas Union. The group played Friday night at the Lied Center. Upcoming shows at the Lied Center include the Peking Opera, B.B. King and the Vagina Monologues.
Eric Braem/Kansan
The Peking Opera Saturday, March 29
For more information call the Lied Center Ticket Office at 864-ARTS
He said the hardest part of finding regional and national promoters was getting them interested in a small city like Lawrence.
"I explain to the promoters that we have one of the finest performing arts center in the region," he said.
Pawlicki said the center used the latest technical equipment on one of the largest stages in the area.
But because University programs and functions have priority
for scheduling dates, it is sometimes difficult to accommodate promoters' requests for, he said.
"The Lied Center's highest priority is focused on an academic mission," Pawlickisaid. "Promoters are basically the sixth level of priority for available dates."
The center presents its own series each season, which includes performances in six categories: The Broadway & Beyond Series, the Concert Series, the Lied Family Series, the New
"These types of performances aren't available at many campuses," Pawlicki said.
When Phillip Garlin, Houston senior, came to the University almost four years ago, he had no idea what the Lied Center offered.
"My previous college didn't have anything like the Lied Ceni-
ter," said Garlin, who attended Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. "I think it's really great because you have the opportunity to see these great performances in Kansas."
Garlin said he had taken advantage of Lied Center programming when he attended the University's opening convocation and listened to a lecture by Gloria Steinem, feminist author.
Edited by Lindsay Hanson
Lawrence.com gets facelift, adds entertainment
By Erin Duffey
editor@kansan.com
Special to the Kansan
Lawrence.com has been tucked, tweaked and plucked. The end result is a heightened degree of interactive, edgy entertainment on the Web site.
The new site delivers news, community events, services, movie showings, local music downloads and a restaurant guide through graffiti-style headlines and a clean, modern design.
It features an MP3 database of local music in which users can select a random play list for an online radio-like experience. Users can also select songs from a vault of the music scene in Lawrence to create a customized play list.
Phil Cauthn, the site's editor, said Lawrence.com had experienced 7,000 impressions, or viewings, per day before its renovation.
The site was more or less a community bulletin board where users would gather information
featuring a virtual Allen Fieldhouse and links to player pages. KUSports.com jumped to 3 million impressions per day from 1 million after the transition.
about community happenings or leave feedback about local events. Adrian Holovaty, the site's lead developer, has transformed it into more of a database.
The Lawrence com editors and technicians will closely monitor the feedback of its users and work out any kinks, Cauthon said. They will later begin print advertising and convergence cross-referring through partner media.
Traffic is the end goal for the site. Cauthon said his team expected numbers to parallel the growth experienced by KUSports.com when it was redesigned last year. The World Company owns both KUSports.com and Lawrence.com. The new KUSports.com is a more stimulating, interactive stop for online users
Caution said the greatest challenge of the project had been reaching a balance between edgi-
ness and utility. It's the site's aim, he said, to represent the artistic culture that is Lawrence without alienating the loyal visitors who appreciate the site as a quick reference.
"Every day you start from scratch," Cauthon said. "Trying to be innovative every step of the way."
The site's frequent need for updates pose daily challenges to the site's creators.
Edited by Lindsay Hanson
Africa
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Although Niang said the event celebrating African culture was important to him, he said it could not compare to KU's defeat of Oklahoma State earlier in the day.
"They're both good," Niang said. "But beating Oklahoma State makes us one step closer to getting a Big 12 ring."
Vimbayi Kajese, Zimbabwe sophomore, who emceed part of Door to Africa, said the event offered an opportunity to dispel misconceptions about Africa.
"People come up to me and assume that I speak Swahili or that I know there cousin in Kenya," she said. "People don't have a spatial awareness of how vast Africa is. Events like this help them learn."
- Edited by Brandon Gay
Cuts
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
In a memo sent Thursday, Chancellor Robert Hemenway stated the need to deal with these cuts by using some of the same principles that guided the state budget cuts. The cuts will affect departments differently, he said.
"We're still analyzing the exact nature of the impact," Wilcox said.
"It may be wise for each department to review its KU Endowment Association account with an eye toward the future, making hard and careful choices about specific KU Endowment-funded activities that can be reduced in scope or eliminated altogether," Hemenway said in the memo.
Wilcox said his biggest concern was the quality of a student's experience at the University because of cutting programs.
"It's the small pieces that make it a richer experience for the student," Wilcox said.
— Edited by Michelle Burhenn
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