Tomorrow's weather
K
Z
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 3585
TOPEKA, KS 6601-3585
_ansan
Warmer and with a chance in a windy afternoon.
Monday
February 23, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 108 • No. 106
Want to learn more about anthrax and why it is so dangerous? Check out the Arnot Ogden Medical Center Site for the grisly details.
http://www.aomc.org/ComDiseases/Ant
hrax.html
Online today
Sports today
It's a Big Monday for three Kansas seniors, who will play their last game in Allen Field House at 8:35 tonight against the Oklahoma Sooners.
SEE PAGE 1B
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Fighting against war
Protesters line up along Massachusetts Street to support a peaceful resolution to the situation in Iraq. A University of Kansas professor of anthropology helped organize the protest that drew more than 150 people. Photo by Roger Nomer / KANSAN
(USPS 650-640)
Rally protests possible strikes
By Jeremy M. Doherty
jdoherty@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
Despite cloudy skies the group carried anti-war signs and stood in a block-long line in front of the Douglas County Courthouse.
More than 150 University of Kansas students and Lawrence residents gathered at 11th and Massachusetts streets yesterday afternoon to protest looming air strikes against Iraq.
The demonstration began at noon and lasted for an hour.
Abigail Birrell, Topeka freshman, said she was pleased with the number of protesters present.
Cardboard peace signs contained simple messages such as "War only creates more war" and "Support our troops; don't send them on a futile mission."
"We need to get everyone down here and make a community statement," Birrell said. "To get this kind of cross-section here is really awesome. There are weirdoes, old hippies and members of the Lawrence community here."
The protesters ranged in age from toddlers to senior citizens. Along with the signs, a few carried U.S. flags. No one chanted any slogans.
The protest coincided with yesterday's meeting between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and U.N. Secretary-General. Koff Annan.
Allan Hanson, professor of anthropology and an organizer of the rally, said he was hopeful that the talks would be successful in deterring military action.
"I am guardedly optimistic and immensely hopeful, but I just don't know," Hanson said. "The reports out of Baghdad are promising, and hopefully we will not have to keep coming here every Sunday."
Noting the size of the crowd, Hanson said the turnout was indicative of the public's stance toward military action.
"I didn't think there'd be this many people, but I guess we've struck a chord," Hanson said. "The administration has been saying that they've got the support of the American public on this, but that's not what's going on if you look around here."
Mehdi Riazi, Hays graduate student, held a U.S. flag and said the Clinton administration was not acting properly in the crisis.
"I didn't bring this flag, but it shows that some of us still believe that this flag is ours," Riazia said. "I don't buy the administration's case that Iraq is such a threat. The tone they're taking in the negotiations is ridiculous. They're saying that it has to be our way and then bypass the U.N. altogether."
Similar protests took place each Sunday of the Persian Gulf war in 1991, drawing crowds as large as 700, Hanson said.
Lawrence residents Taj Heckler and Rose Heckler hold up a sign to protest the air strikes in Iraq. More than 150 people gathered in protest yesterday in front of the Douglas County Courthouse. Photo by Colie Waters/KANSAN
More information
For additional information on the situation in Iraq. See page 4A.
Stock market vital to University
By Brandon Copple
"The excess earnings we're enjoying today will support our programs in those times," he said. "So the longer this lasts, the more secure we become."
Although the growth may not mean much to students eating ramen noodles four nights a week, it means a whole lot to the University.
By Brandon Copley
bcopple@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The U.S. stock market is in the midst of one of the longest growth periods in recent history, and the national economy is expanding.
The Kansas University Endowment Association has plenty of money invested in the market and like most investors, the association has fared well in the past three years.
As of June 30,1997,the Endowment Association's investments were valued at almost $650 million,and in 1997 the association reported a 21 percent gain on its investments.
Jeff Davis, Endowment Association treasurer, said that 1997 was an unusually good year for contributions and for returns on investments.
The money, which comes from private donations, goes toward scholarships and endowed professorships. The association's total assets also grow from new contributions.
Kristi Elliott / KANSAN
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week that the average college endowment increased 20.4 percent in fiscal year 1997. That's the highest average return since 1986, when endowments averaged 26.9 percent growth.
"I don't think you can sustain these double-digit returns very long," he said. "In an average year, a portfolio like we have should earn 8 to 10 percent."
Those returns are not as impressive when
compared to market-wide indicators. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.6 percent in 1997. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index grew 34.7 percent last year.
Davis said that the Endowment Association does not expect to keep pace with the Dow Jones Average and the Standard & Poor's index, however, because both indicators are based solely on stock performance, while the association also invests in bonds.
Davis said stocks made up about 70 percent of the association's investment portfolio, while the other 30 percent consisted of bonds.
Davis said the Endowment Association was prepared for times when earnings were lower.
"Stocks are more risky in the short term but over 20 years or so they far perform bonds," said Matt Michaelis, a 1994 graduate of the University and a market analyst at Greenhill & Co. on Wall Street. "The endowment is probably looking at the long term, so its not unwise to keep a strong percentage in stocks."
Classes to resume today after fire in Budig Hall
By Laura Roddy
lroddy@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Classes should resume today in Budig Hall, just three days after a mechanical- room fire caused the evacuation of the 125-station computer lab and two 500-seat lecture halls.
The computer lab was closed this weekend but suffered no damage. No one was injured in the fire, and police said a damage estimate would be available today.
The University of Kansas Public Safety Office received the alarm at 10:34 a.m Friday. Responding units observed heavy smoke and fire at the southwest mechanical room on the third floor, KU police said.
Police said that the building's sprinkler system activated just as Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical personnel were unwinding the hoses. The sprinkler system extinguished most of the fire, and firefighters put out the rest.
Facilities Operations personnel worked to remove the water from the mechanical room and fans were set up in the building to air out the smoke.
Harlan Roedel, University Relations spokesman, said the fire originated in a power inverter that supplied electricity to the building's emergency lights and fire exit signs.
Roedel said the manufacturer of the inverter had been contacted and had inspected the faulty equipment during the weekend.
Jim Vequist, director of the Hoch Auditoria in Budig, said the emergency lighting and exit system would be run by a generator until the power inverter was fixed.
A Topeka contractor who specializes in smoke damage toured Budig Hall Friday and found that there was not much damage. Roedel said.
Veuquit was in the building during the evacuation and admitted firefighters into the mechanical room.
"The students left in an orderly fashion." he said.
Two classes, Chemistry 125 and Sociology 104, were in session when the alarm sounded.
Students in Associate Professor Bill Arnold's sociology class were about to take an exam when they had to evacuate the building. Arnold said he would give his students the exam today.
Two other classes were scheduled to meet in the Hoch Auditoria Friday. Brenda Selman, associate registrar, said that the registrar's office offered faculty members alternate locations but that the classes were canceled.
Budig Hall, formerly Hoch Auditorium,
reopened this Fall after a fire, which was
sparked by lightning, destroyed it June
15. 1991.
The building underwent the $21.8 million renovation following the 1991 fire and retained Hoch's original limestone facade, stair towers and architectural style.
Hey guys, not so high!
Kansas seniors Raef LaFrentz, C.B. McGrath and Billy Thomas hold up the Big 12 trophy after defeating Iowa State 71-54 on Saturday. The Jayhawks have won the Big Eight/Big 12 Conference title the last four years. Photo by Geoff Krieger/KANSAN
Closing out the home season
The Jayhawks celebrate winning the conference title and will honor the seniors tonight vs. Oklahoma See page 1B
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