CHAMPION DEBATERS TACKLE SHERRON COLLINS' NBA FUTURE
Should he stay or should he go? Debaters argue whether Collins ought to enter the NBA draft. CAMPUS 13A
STUDENT PANEL DISCUSSES IRAQ
Universities talk media via satellite. INTERNATIONAL 6A
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 6,2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 129
CAMPUS
University re-examines its privacy policy
BY KEVIN HARDY AND ALEXANDRA GARRY khardy@kansan.com and aqarry@kansan.com
The University is re-examining its policy concerning parental notification following students' alcohol-related violations.
Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, said her department had formed a work group to review its interpretation of the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, after the death of Jason Wren, a 19-year old freshman from Littleton, Colo. Wren's Department of Student Housing contract was terminated after repeated policy violations. FERPA is the law that sets guidelines on which student records schools and universities can release.
Wren was asked to leave Oliver Hall about a week before his death in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1301 West Campus Road, March 8.
Wren's father has spoken out against housing officials' refusal to release information at his request about the type of infractions Jason was accused of.
FERPA has several exceptions, allowing universities to release student records in cases of underage drinking or if a student is deemed a risk to themselves or others. The law also allows universities to release information to parents if students are claimed as tax dependents.
The law allows, but does not
require universities to release information in these cases. Roney said it would be easier to notify parents of students with alcohol violations if they were living on campus.
"But for students who live off campus, I have no idea how we would be able to be aware of underage drinking or drug use and be able to disclose that," Roney said.
By signing FERPA waivers, students can allow parents access to as much information as they choose.
Jay Wren, Jason's father, said his
son never completed such a waiver.
Students are offered the opportunity to sign a waiver at new student orientation and can fill them out in the Bursar's office at any time.
Jay Wren said he thought the University's interpretation should be changed to allow for more parental notification.
"It's a right the parents have." Wren said.
Roney said administrators were
WHAT IS FERPA?
SEE FERPA ON PAGE 7A
A federal law designed to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate and misleading data through informal and formal hearings with university officials.
Full house
More than 16,000 fans packed Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday for the Jayhawks' WNIT Championship game against the University of South Florida Bulls. Attendance set an all-time record for a women's basketball game at the University, and it set a new standard for women's basketball attendance in any Big 12 arena. It was the second-highest attended WNIT Championship game.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
STUDENT SENATE DEBATE
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA KUJH
Event to be moved from lawn to new location
BY RACHEL BURCHFIELD rburchfield@kansan.com
The second annual Student Senate debate scheduled for 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the lawn of Stauffer Flint Hall will be moved to an as yet undetermined location because of weather. Kansan.com will have location updates.
The event is sponsored by the University Daily Kansan, KUJH-TV and KJHK.
"It's our civic duty as a media outlet to make people aware of candidates' issues and positions when they're running for office and to make students aware of what they're voting for," said Brenna Hawley, Salina junior and editor-in-chief of The Kansan.
The debate will be more informal than last year's inaugural event, which was held in the evening and where candidates dressed up in formal attire.
Candidates from Envision, Free State, Students of Liberty and United Students will participate. Video of the debate will be broadcast on Kansan.com, KUJH-TV and KJHK within the week.
Edited by Brandy Entsminger
CAMPUS
Construction will make parking spots more sparse
BY MIKE BONTRAGER mbontrager@kansan.com
Hunter Vore, Lawrence sophomore, usually parks in front of Strong Hall or Bailey Hall after 5 p.m. each day for his Spanish class, but now he will have to find a new spot to park.
Don Steeples, vice provost for scholarly support, said the new tunnel would run from the northeast corner of Strong Hall across Mississippi Street and intersect with tunnels installed last summer. The new tunnel will carry steam and
Beginning on Friday the parking lots around Strong Hall, Bailey Hall and the Facilities Operations building were closed to accommodate the construction of a utility tunnel. The lots will be closed until Aug. 1.
data lines used for computers and telephones around campus.
Poplar Lane, a road behind Strong Hall, will also be closed during the construction. Steeples said a temporary road, which would run between Bailey Hall and Strong Hall, would allow traffic to flow behind Strong Hall and onto Jayhawk Boulevard.
Donna Hultine, director of parking and transit, said the only parking spots that would be available behind Strong Hall were under the Spencer Research Library's canopy.
"It's going to take several months," Steeples said. "It's best to do it in the summer."
Hultine said there would also be spots designated for handicapped parking on Jayhawk Boulevard to compensate for the spaces lost behind Strong and Bailey.
Parking on Jayhawk Boulevard will be turned into a designated loading area for trucks unable to drive under the canopy.
"We are definitely going to make sure that we don't lose any of those stalls," Hultine said. "Who's really going to hurt a little bit are gold permit holders, so people who might normally have found a regular gold stall back there are not going to be able to park there."
Michael Cherniss, professor of English and gold permit holder, said that he was glad to hear there would be more handicapped parking in front of Strong Hall, but that he was
still concerned there might not be enough parking.
"I see no way that closing that area off of Jayhawk Boulevard, most behind Bailey, is not going to create parking problems," Cherniss said.
Chermiss teaches three times a week at Wescoe Hall and said he needed a parking stall close to campus because he couldn't walk long distances.
"Those of us who work up there try to park as close as we can to our buildings," Cherniss said. "The space behind Bailey serves Bailey, Strong, Wescoe and probably some other buildings as well."
Cherniss said he was concerned because finding a spot to park was
Several areas of the University campus have already been blocked off for construction projects that are expected to continue through the summer months, and may possibly extend into the fall semester.
SEE CONSTRUCTION ON PAGE 7A
Rvan McGeenev/K/NSAN
index
Classifieds. 6B Opinion. 5A
Crossword. 4A Sports. 1B
Horoscopes. 4A Sudoku. 4A
All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2009 The University Dally Kansan
MCCARTNEY, STARR TAKE THE STAGE IN NEW YORK
The "Change Begins Within" concert, held at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday night, brought together the former Beatles. MUSIC|4A
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