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FRIDAY,FEBRUARY 21,2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
Coca-Cola wants no part in raunchy rivalry ads
By Kelley Weiss
kweiss@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Brandon Baker/Kansan
Students shake newspaper posters at the Wednesday night Kansas-Colorado basketball game. KU students have traditionally rattled newspapers while the visiting starting lineup is introduced.
Students have always loved fueling rivalries between different schools, but Coca-Cola is not interested in participating.
After a Missouri fan complained to Chancellor Robert Hemenway that the "Muck Fizzou" T-shirts were offensive, Coke wanted to make sure its logo was not associated with anything offensive in Allen Fieldhouse. But the "Screw Mizzou" poster pullout that appeared in The University Daily Kansan for the Feb. 3 Missouri-Kansas game, with Coke's logo on the bottom, ran too high a risk of offending Coke's large customer base.
The Kansan has run a poster series throughout the semester for students to take to KU home basketball games. Students rattle the newspaper posters while the visiting team is introduced before the game starts.
David Johnston, marketing coordinator for KU Memorial Unions and Coke promotions committee member, said Coke evaluated whether it wanted to be connected with the KU rivalry between visiting schools.
Taking into consideration its broad customer base, Coke decided it did not want its logo associated with the negative message the posters directed at other schools, Johnston said.
Ellen Wood, KU Coke representative, said Coke would only comment through public information officers who could not be reached.
Because the Kansan is a newspaper for the students, Johnston said he understood that most of the readers liked the posters. But Coke markets to a broad audience and feared there was a high probability that the posters would offend someone, Johnston said. If Coke had kept its logo on the posters, Coke might have tried to tone down the negative message of posters, Johnston said.
"Coke does not, in anyway, want to offend students," Johnston said. "We don't want to try and censor the Kansan or control content, so it is for the best that Coke has removed their logo."
Paul Vander Tuig, licensing administrator, said at the Coke promotions committee meeting Feb. 5 that Coke might want to consider removing its logo from the posters. Johnston said. Coke decided it didn't want to sponsor the posters because it did not want to be associated with the negative message they can give. Johnston said. Although Coke removed its logo from the poster, the removal will not affect the strong relationship between the Kansan and Coca-Cola, said
Matt Fisher, marketing and sales adviser of the Kansan.
Richard Konzem, senior associate athletics director, said he always heard complaints about offensive behavior at the Fieldhouse.
"I am really disappointed in the
poster," Konzem said. "That is not the image we want to portray. We want to promote Kansas and the Jayhawks. Our basketball program is not about running down other schools."
Missouri-Columbia said students will always want to carry on traditional rivalries. Although it was not what the athletics department at any school wanted to see, what students say and do cannot be controlled, he said.
Mario Moccia of University of
Someone is always bound to be offended by something, said Moccia, senior associate athletics director at MU.
"Someone will always be offended. It's like asking what your favorite color is." Moccia said. "I hope people that go to college basketball games don't think that the posters and T-shirts that students wear represent the whole university. That's really overgeneralizing."
Eric Kelting, business manager of the Kansan, said the posters pushed the envelope, but there was always a chance that someone would be offended.
"People get a little too sensitive," Kelting said. "It's just college basketball. It's just a rivalry."
Ketting also said he was pleased because Coke or the Kansan did not leave the issue angry.
"I'm happy that Coke did not walk away upset," Kelting said.
Bob Houchin, MU senior and business manager for The Maneater, said he would have run the posters, but only if they did not have a sponsor. When asked about the rivalry and "Screw Mizzou" posters, Houchin said he was not offended by them.
"The Kansan and The Maneater are for students," Houchin said. "Rivalry is a great thing and I think it is all in fun."
Edited by Ryan Wood
Group to attend conference
By Henry C. Jackson
cjackson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas men's basketball team is not the only KU group headed to Norman, Okla., this weekend.
Norman is the site of this year's Big 12 conference on black student leadership, a three-day event designed to build leadership and communication skills among African Americans on college campuses.
Members of KU'S Black Student Union said they were looking forward to this year's conference.
"I think it's great because it's a time for us to be able to network with other black student unions and black leadership organizations, not only in the Big 12, but from colleges throughout the United States," said C'nea Hatches, the organization's vice president.
Hatches, Valparaiso, Ind.,
sophomore, said that in addition to delegations from each of the schools in the Big 12, African-American student leaders from as far away as Oregon and California have attended past leadership conferences. She said she expected representatives from all over the country this year.
Anthony Daniels, associate director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, said the conference presented a chance for leaders to learn from each other.
"It's a leadership opportunity. They have an opportunity to talk about policy issues and issues that directly affect the leadership on their campuses," he said. "If something is working on one campus, it's something that might work on another campus. It can really help benefit other schools."
In past years, speakers at Big 12 leadership conferences have included Black Entertainment Television talk show host Ed Gordon and former Real World cast member and journalist Kevin Powell. This year's guests include awardwinning talk show host Beatrice Berry and author George Fraser, whose books focus on networking among African-Americans and other race issues. During the weekend, a variety of workshops will be held in areas such as being a better leader as an African American.
Although the majority of Black Student Union's members will be making the trip to Norman, not all of the organization's KU chapter will be able to enjoy this weekend's conference. Some, like Kristin Lambert, Kansas City, Kan., junior, said they could not afford the trip to Norman.
"I've gotten a lot of calls from people going saying, 'Why aren't you coming?'"" she said. "I'll do it next year. It costs a lot of money to go."
- Edited by Ryan Wood
By Nikki Overfelt
noverfelt@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas Medical Center is experiencing growing pains, which is a good thing, as record-high numbers call for an expansion.
In the 2002 fiscal year, the Med Center reported record-high patient numbers. It saw a 17 percent increase in inpatient discharges, 21 percent increase in outpatient visits, 30 percent increase in emergency department visits and 10 percent increase in surgery procedures.
The rise in patients assures the Med Center it is operating the way it should be, said Jon Jackson, senior vice president for the Med Center.
"It's recognition by the community that we are doing something right," he said. "Patient
satisfaction is tremendously higher than it used to be."
Because of the record-high number of patients, the Med Center is adding a sixth floor and expanding the Cancer Center, Jackson said.
The sixth-floor addition project will add more than 80,000 square feet to the hospital, he said. It will include a 22-bed medical surgery unit and a 14-bed medical intensive care unit.
The Med Center is also doubling its Cancer Center to accommodate the increase in patients, he said.
The increase enables the Med Center to provide a good clinical experience for students at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Jackson said. Although the Med Center is independent of the Med School, the Med Center still takes the job of giving students a good hospital
experience seriously,he said
The increase in patient volume has also brought financial success to the Med Center, said Dennis McCulloch, representative for the Med Center.
Its total assets increased by 7 percent, total operating revenues by 29 percent and operating income by 6 percent.
"It enables us to pay off some of these things we're doing." he said.
These increases will help the Med Center invest in new facilities and programs, Jackson said.
The money will also go toward continuing to strengthen the Med Center's relationship with the Med School, McCulloch said.
"In turn, it will help the hospital support the education and research mission of the school," he said.
Edited by Ryan Wood
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