Friday
February 28, 2003
Vol. 113. Issue No.107
Today's weather
33°
Tonight: 22°
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KANSAN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Tell us your news
Contact Kristi Henderson, Jenna Goepfert or Justin Henning at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
Men's basketball seniors to say goodbye to Allen Fieldhouse tomorrow p.1B
Endowed funds cut after stock decline
By Jessica Hood
jhood@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas will receive 20 percent less from the Kansas University Endowment Association permanent, endowed funds because of a change in spending policy after a consistent decline in the U.S. stock market.
Senior administrators of the University learned of the change Monday. Chancellor Robert Hemenway e-mailed a memo from the president of the Endowment Association outlining the
new procedure shortly after 5 p.m. yesterday
Dale Seuferling, president of the Endowment Association, said the association did not have an idea of an exact amount.
"We won't know until the year is finished next year because we're dealing with predictions," Seuferling said.
"This is another challenge we find ourselves confronting in a difficult budget situation," said Janet Murguia, executive vice chancellor for University Relations.
"We've got to tighten our belts further
and rely on the people who keep the University going."
The change makes the Endowment Association's funds more sensitive to the rise and fall of the stock market, said John Scarffe, director of communications for the Endowment Association.
The Endowment Association will also cut its operating budget by 20 percent from last year's amount.
A permanent, endowed fund is where the principle amount donated remains
SEE ENDOWMENT ON PAGE 8A
Delta Force kicks off
Drew Thomas, Hays senior and Student Senate presidential candidate, signs petitions for his fellow Delta Force members while patrons enter The Pool Room. Thomas said his goal for the coalition's kickoff party yesterday, which glam-rockers Vibralux headlined, was to "have people be introduced to the organization which does so much for the University and which has the potential to do so much more."
Eric Braem/Kansan
The drive-through at McDonald's on 23rd Street is open 24 hours a day. The McDonald's at 1309 W.6th St will also have its drive-through open 24 hours a day starting mid-
March.
Scott Revnolds/Kansan
After-midnight McMunchies
Second McDonald's to open 24 hours
By JJHensley
jhensley@kansan.com
kansan staff writer
Lawrence residents will have another late-night menu option to choose from next month. The McDonald's at 1309 W. 6th St., following the lead of the 23rd Street location, will begin staying open 24 hours a day in mid-March.
The changes mean hungry patrons can enjoy their fast-food favorites at all hours of the night and morning.
"You can have a Big Mac till 3:30," said Patrick Manning, marketing director for McDonald's of Lawrence. "Then it's whatever you want on the breakfast menu after that."
The McDonald's located at 901 W. 23rd St. began staying open 'round-the-clock last August and has led the region in sales ever since, Manning said.
While the expanded hours gave patrons more time to spend money at McDonald's, staying open all night hasn't cost McDonald's that much more.
"It's not really an extra expense to us since a lot of times we were open till two or three anyway and we open up at six, so we were only closed for a few hours as it was," Manning said
The lobby remains closed at both locations after 11:00 p.m., leaving only the drive-through open all night.
That doesn't keep customers from occasionally getting out of hand, said Dexter West, night shift manager at the 23rd Street location.
"Generally they're pretty cool, but it is late night, you know," West said. "All the customers are glad we're open 24 hours, but the people who come
from the bars definitely make it interesting."
Expanding hours of operation came as a directive from McDonald's headquarters in Oakbrook, Ill.
It was part of an incentive initiative for the franchise chain's heartland region, Manning said. The plan was put in place last summer, long before McDonald's well-publicized fourth-quarter loss—the first in the company's 47-year history.
Lawrence's other McDonald's locations will maintain their normal hours.
—Edited by Todd Rapp
Former KU student accepts plea bargain
eohm@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
By Erin Ohm
He pleaded no contest in the Douglas County District Court yesterday to three counts of aggravated battery and one count of distribution of the drug diazenam.
In a plea agreement, the Douglas County District Attorney for Douglas County agreed to drop four of the eight charges in a case against former KU student Michael D. Carpenter.
Carpenter was charged in August with drugging three KU students and attempting to rape one of them.
Assistant District Attorney David Zabel said in court the state would drop a charge of attempted rape, a charge of possession of diazepam and two charges of distributing the drug as part of the plea bargain.
Zabel said both the prosecution and
Zabel also agreed to change the language in Carpenter's drug offense charge of distributing diazepam. He said the state would omit language stating Carpenter's actions were sexually motivated.
the defense recommended Carpenter serve the minimum sentence of 14 months in prison.
Kenney said in order to charge a person with attempted rape, the state had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was an obvious act toward the completion of the crime.
She said the plea agreement was fair to victims, the prosecution and the accused.
Carpenter could face a maximum penalty of 23 months in prison for each count of aggravated battery and 51
Douglas County District Attorney Christine Kenney said the charges were dropped because of the mutual concessions involved in the plea bargain.
months for the drug offense.
Carpenter was originally charged with possession of the date-rape drug GHB, but Kenney said the charge was amended because further testing showed the drug was actually the sedative diazepam.
Cathy Thrasher, chief pharmacist at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said the drug would make someone feel sleepy and could make them act impaired. She said diazepam should not be combined with alcohol because it increased the depressive effect on the nervous system.
Zabel said the three victims had met Carpenter at Cadillac Ranch the night of Aug. 28 and accompanied him to his residence early that morning. Carpenter gave the women drinks that he said were alcoholic, but they contained the drug diazepam. All three women tested positive for the drug later that day at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Zabel said.
In the second period, weeks six through 10, a student would receive a "W." Before, the college and schools set their own policies for withdrawal.
While at Carpenter's residence, Zabel said the women became "extremely intoxicated," and they described their physical state as different from the usual feeling of intoxication.
The women were picked up by a friend in the morning on Aug. 29 and were involved in a traffic accident sometime that morning. Zabel said the state believed the woman driving the car was impaired because she had been given diazepam earlier that day.
The women contacted the Lawrence Police Department Aug. 29 at about 2:50 p.m. They said they overslept and felt poorly, in a condition inconsistent with the amount of alcohol they drank the night before.
Carpenter agreed the facts of the case presented by Zabel in court were correct. His sentencing is set for March 27.
Edited by Todd Rapp
Proposal to change way to withdraw from classes
By Jessica Hood
jhood@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University Council yesterday approved a proposal that will change the withdrawal procedures at the University of Kansas.
Students withdrawing from a class currently abides by the procedures of the school in which the class was offered. Under the plan approved by University Council yesterday, a student withdrawing from a class would abide by the procedures of the school in which the student is enrolled.
In the University Council meeting, Jim Carothers, associate vice provost for academic services, said the attempt was to streamline withdrawal procedures between schools.
The change in the withdrawal procedure comes in the second and third periods of withdrawing.
In the third period, week 11 through the last day of classes, students would be able to withdraw from a class after getting a drop card signed by the class instructor. The instructor then must decide to give the student either a "W" or "E".
Carothers said the proposal was an effort to protect the student.
"This policy will make sure that the student receives consultation from the proper school and will help keep students on track," Carothers said.
Johanna Maska, a Student Senate representative on University Council, said under the current policy, a student enrolled in the School of Journalism but taking a class offered within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences could drop the class without realizing the problems it could cause in the pursuit of a journalism degree.
Under the new policy, the student would receive consultation from the School of Journalism and fully know the implications of dropping the class, Maska said.
Andy Knopp, vice-president of University Council, said the proposal still needed to be signed off by the administration, including the Office of the Provost.
— Edited by Ryan Wood