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JAYHAWK PLAYS IN MEMORY OF FRIEND
Appleton heads home to Indiana. SPORTS | 1B
THE RETURNING
Captain Tim Hornik was shot by a sniper in 2004 and narrowly dodged death. Now he wants to use that experience to help others. NEWS | 8A
THE STUDENT VOICE SINCE 1904
SANDERS
NIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 121
SAYING GOODBYE
Jay Wren, Jason Wren's father, speaks at Wren's funeral on March 16. Among the almost 1,000 people who attended the funeral were about 10 KU students who made the trip to Littleton, Colo.. during spring break.
Tyler Waugh/KANSAN
Remembering Jason Wren
Nearly 1,000 people attend the freshman's funeral in Colorado during spring break
BY ALEXANDRA GARRY
agarry@kansan.com
The following story about Jason Wren's funeral in his hometown appeared at Kansan.com on March 16.
LITTLETON, Colo. — The palbearers entered the church hand-in-hand.
They were tough, football-playing young men, back at home for spring break from colleges across the country. They had grown up with the man in the casket — "Wreckin' Wren," as some had called him, "The Mayor," to others. They were Jason's brothers, they said.
X
They sobbed. The sound of their grief — and that of hundreds of other mourners — resonated throughout the large church.
Nearly 1.000 people gathered
on March 16 at Cherry Hills Community Church for the funeral of Jason Wren, a 19-year-old freshman from this quiet suburb outside Denver who was found dead in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1301 West Campus Road, the afternoon of March 8.
Included in the crowd were about 10 KU students who made the eight-hour drive to attend the service.
The University of Kansas has lost a great person, said Ben Fohrman, St. Paul, Minn., freshman.
It was a large church, but it had to be, one of lason's relatives said during the service. It was the only place big enough to fit lason's heart — and all his friends.
"He always used to tease us by saying, 'I'm so popular.' Katie
SEE WREN ON PAGE 5A
Coroner's office will release autopsy in June
The coroner's and toxicology reports in the case of Jason Wren, a 19-year-old freshman from Littleton, Colo., who was found dead in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 1301 West Campus Road, on March 8, will not be released until the beginning of June, a representative of the coroner's office said.
All autopsies take eight to 12 weeks from the date of death until the coroner finalizes and releases the results, because samples must be sent to labs in St. Louis, the representative said. The office will release the reports to the police, who are unlikely to release them to the public because of
privacy concerns. The police will release the information to Wren's family.
The coroner's report is expected to show the cause and manner of death. Wren's family has said his death was caused by excessive drinking, but they do not know whether it was caused by alcohol poisoning or a secondary cause of death such as asphyxiation. The toxicology report is expected to show Wren's blood alcohol content at the time of death
treated as a criminal case but was still an open investigation because the coroner's report had not yet been finalized.
The family said they had been told by SAE members that Jason was served margaritas at a Mexican restaurant the night of his death. The family also said the police had in their possession a fake ID owned by Wren. Murphree said she could not confirm or deny the presence of any evidence.
Lawrence police have not filed requests to pursue any criminal charges in the case, Cheryl Wright, a representative of the district attorney's office said. Kim Murphree, a spokesperson for the police, said Wren's death was not being
Jay Wren, Jason's father, said Jason drank heavily the night of his death because he was upset with himself for missing a bus to a club lacrosse game
"I'm sure he felt like he let the team down," Jay Wren said.
- Alexandra Garry
PHILANTHROPY
Volunteers donate extra food to shelters
BY MIKE BONTRAGER
mbontrager@kansan.com
Students often have elaborate vacation plans for spring break, but Sylvia Niccum already had a plan in place to help the community.
Niccum, Olathe senior, founded Daily Bread in October 2008, the first food recovery program at the University.
Daily Bread is a group of volunteers who collect bread and produce that the KU Dining Services' food centers don't use during winter, spring and summer break.
The food is collected and then donated to the Salvation Army, 946 New Hampshire St., and the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen, 221 W. 10th St.
Niccum said the idea for Daily Bread occurred after she realized how much food was going to waste at the University. She researched other food recovery programs and presented KU Dining Services with a proposal for Daily Bread last September."
Niccum said she found about a dozen volunteers through the Center for Community Outreach for pick-ups during both winter and spring break.
Volunteers are required to participate in only one pick-up but can volunteer as many times as they want. The volunteers collect the food and transport it in their own cars to the Salvation Army and L.I.N.K.
Niccum said the difficulty of tracking students' travel plans meant that KU Dining Services had leftover food.
"I tried to make it as easy as possible for them." Niccum said. "If you guys get it ready, I'll get volunteers through CCO."
Nona Golledge, director of KU Dining Services, said Daily Bread was a great opportunity for KU Dining Services, the Salvation Army and L.I.N.K.
"We're not quite sure how many students are going to be leaving.
SEE DINING ON PAGE 5A
CAMPUS
Wind energy will power Anschutz Library for a year
BY AMANDA THOMPSON
athompson@kansan.com
A miniature 6-foot version of a wind turbine on display in front of Anschutz Library this morning signifies a first in University history. For one year, the library will be powered by wind through Westar Energy.
The library started running on wind power at the beginning of the month, and will continue until March 2010. Lorraine Harcombe, dean of libraries, and Doug Sterbenz, chief operating officer of Westar, will speak on the steps of the library
Ryan Callihan, Lenexa senior and vice president of KU Environs, is the vice chair of the Student Environmental Advisory Board. The board recently voted to pay the cost difference between wind energy and conventional
at 10:30 this morning about what sustainable energy can mean for the University.
energy for the library. Callihan said the difference was about one cent per kilowatt hour.
England Porter, Independence senior and chair of the SEAB, said the library used roughly 2.89 million kilowatt hours per year, which meant $28,000 would be needed to switch to wind power. Porter said the money would come from a renewable energy and sustainability student fee, which
"It passed with the greatest majority that we know of in Student Senate history"
ENGLAND PORTER Independence senior
Student Senate approved in 2007 The referendum set a goal for the University to get 20 percent of its
energy from renewable sources by 2020.
"It passed with the greatest majority that we know of in Student Senate history," Porter said.
Westar announced last month that it hoped to more than double its use of wind energy in the next four years. Westar is making wind
SEE WIND ON PAGE 5A
The Student Environmental Advisory Board will use student fees to pay for powering Anschutz Library with wind. Turbines such as the one pictured at right provide wind energy to power companies such as Westar.
Amanda Thompson/KANSAN
index
Classifieds. 3B Opinion. 7A
Crossword. 6A Sports. 1B
Horoscopes. 6A Sudoku. 6A
All contents, unless stated otherwise; © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
LOPEZ TO GET NEWTBS SHOW
Comedian George Lopez will get a new late-night show on TBS. TELEVISION | 6A
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