Monday, January 12, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
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Section A · Page 5
Parking spaces will reopen today behind Kansas Union
By Marc Sheforgen
Kansan staff writer
Early planning by the city has allowed valuable parking spaces behind the Kansas Union to open by the start of the semester.
The parking spaces, located on Mississippi Street, were closed off while Lawrence Utility Department workers replaced a section of a deteriorating water line.
Although the city officials don't know when the the project will be finished, the street will be temporarily available for parking until warmer weather permits workers to put down a final layer of asphalt.
The west side of the street contains a strip of spaces that require yellow parking passes. These spaces are valuable because of their proximity to the Union. The city and the University of Kansas' parking department kept this in mind when planning the project, said Donna Hultine, assistant
director of the parking department.
director of the parking department. By starting in early December, workers were able to complete the majority of construction during winter break, minimizing the effect of lost parking, Hultine said.
"Hopefully, most of the parking on Mississippi Street will be available Monday," she said.
Debbie Van Saun, assistant director of utilities for Lawrence, said that the project was part of a water line rehabilitation program that aimed to replace Lawrence's decaying water pipes with new pipes made of stronger plastic or iron.
The city also is adding more fire hydrants to the area because of a larger water main in the new line.
The pipe, which runs from Mississippi Street to 11th Street, has been replaced, but Kevin Carr, Lawrence Utility Department worker, said the street would not be completely finished until asphalt was laid.
The city contracted Wildcat Concrete Services in Topeka to lay a concrete cap over the street, allowing people to park their cars in the unfinished spaces. A layer of asphalt still needs to be laid over the concrete cap, but right now it is too cold to make the asphalt, Carr said.
Kristi Elliott / KANSAN
"When the weather warms up, we'll put the asphalt down," he said.
More Merit Scholars attend KU
By Gerry Doyle gdoyle@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
A new record has been set. It's not for dunks, touchdowns, assists, goals or home runs. It isn't for attendance, crowd noise or games won.
It's for scholarship.
The University of Kansas has 90 National Merit Scholars attending this year, 50 percent more than last year. The University ranks 18th out of the 396 public and private colleges and universities with National Merit Scholars enrolled. It is the first time in the school's history that it has been ranked in the top 20. Kansas is ninth among public institutions.
"I think it's an indication of the force that KU has," said Chancellor Robert Hemenay. "It shows our willingness to provide opportunities for excellent scholars."
National Merit Scholars are chosen by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation because of their academic achievement and PSAT test scores. Being selected as a National Merit Scholar places a student in the top 1 percent of all students in the United States.
The University ranks fifth in the Big 12 Conference, behind the University of Texas, the University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M University and Iowa State University. Those four Big 12 schools use money from their state legislatures to fund scholarships. The University only uses money from the KU Endowment Association.
"Most of the 90 (National Merit Scholars at KU) are in-state," said Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, associate provost. "If the state pays for them, that's several hundred thousand more dollars the Endowment Association would have for scholarships."
As part of Chancellor Hemenway's
MERIT SCHOLARS
1. University of Texas, Austin 251
2. University of California, Berkeley 167
Merit Scholars at Public Colleges and Universities National Ranking
3. University of Oklahoma 153
4. Texas A&M University 149
5. University of Florida 146
6. Iowa State University 110
7. Ohio State University 103
8. Georgia Tech 91
9. University of Kansas 90
10. University of Alabama 71
effort to attract more National Merit Scholars, scholarships for incoming National Merit Finalists have been raised to more than $5,000 in the last three years.
"My scholarship made it possible for me to attend KU," said Matt Merkelhess, Iowa City freshman.
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