CAMPUS AND AREA
University Daily Kansan, February 21, 1984
Page
Opera House stays busy but still is up for sale
By SHARON BODIN Staff Reporter
Although the Lawrence Opera House has been busy with parties and shows during the past several months, the building's owner said yesterday that he was not making money and still intended to sell the structure.
He said that the building would be used every weekend except three until October.
Skip Moon, the owner, said he had talked to prospective buyers from other towns. But, he said he had received no offers for the Opera House, which was appraised a month ago at more than $350,000.
RENTING THE BUILDING to groups has only brought in enough money to break even because extreme cold has caused high utility bills in the annual months, Moon said. In December the Opera House gas bill was $1,000.
"It isn't lucrative most because
it's not only renting it for weekends,
but also for holidays."
Moon rents the Opera House, 642 Massachusetts St., about six or seven weekend nights a month, he said. The charge to groups is $1 per person, with a minimum cost of $300 to a group on weekend nights.
Moon said that beginning March 1 he would begin reserving the building 60 days ahead of time for groups. He now reserves the building for any date that a group requests. He said he set the 60-day limit because if he sold the building, he would not be responsible for contracts beyond the 60-day period.
ABOUT 50 PERCENT of his business comes from sororites and fraternities that have a strong sense of mission.
comes from out-of-town bands or in groups in Lawrence, who pay to rent
Moon said he would have two options in selling the building. Heccid sell it to a private buyer or he could want to see whether the city condemns the property and buys it for the proposed development of the downtown redevelopment plan.
The city has not made an offer for the Opera House building, Moon said. But, he will sell the building if the price is right. he said.
However, Moon said, "I think I could get more under condemnation by the United States."
"I FEEL REASONABLY sure the city would not make an offer that I would accept," he said. "I don't know if it voluntarily come to an agreement."
If the city condemns the land, he said,
it must compensate Moon for relocation.
Because Moon's business involves renting the Opera House, the city would have to purchase his business. "It's all at any where else in Lawrence," he said.
Moon said he was being selective about potential buyers.
"I prefer to sell it to a group that wants to rehabilitate it and put it to a multiple use," he said. "I wouldn't involved as a partner in some form."
In the fall of 1981, the city discussed buying the building and renovating it for use as a civic center. The renovation was estimated at $2 million.
Moon said that the building should have several uses, such as a dinner theater and a convention center. He also suggested that be removed for about $900,000.
The Lawrence Opera House, 642 Massachusetts St., reflects off the front of the Lawrence National Bank, 647 Massachusetts St. Skip Moon, owner of the Opera House, said yesterday that although the club had been busy for the past several weekends, he was losing money and he still planned to sell the structure.
Senate panel approves 'minority' definition
TODAY
LATIN AMERICAN SOLIDARITY presents "Dollars & Dictators: A Guide to Central America," at noon and at 7:30 p.m. in the Pine Room of the Kansas Union.
"I AM A WITNESS" will be pre-
sented in the Baptist Student
Union, 1629 Wp 18.
OWL SOCIETY will meet at 4 p.m.
and tomorrow in the Inter-
ference Room.
ON CAMPUS
BROWN BAG LUNCH for students interested in study abroad, will be from noon to 1 p.m. in the Governor's Room of the Union.
THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINAR "Spiritual Formation: Three Movements of Spiritual Life" will meet to discuss "A Creative Response" at 4:30 p.m. at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread Ave.
By MARY SEXTON Staff Reporter
No minority groups would be excluded from the services of the Student Senate Minority Affairs Committee, if the committee accepts a definition of "minority" drafted and approved by a subcommittee yesterday.
The definition that the five-member subcommittee drafted defines a minority as any group that is not in the majority and that is treated differently from the majority. The definition would allow groups to be considered minorities of whether group members chose to be different from the majority.
THE SUBCOMMITTEE'S definition came in response to recent complaints
from representatives of the Gay and Lesbian Services of Kansas that the committee discriminated against homosexuals. The committee had proposed a definition of minority that would have excluded homosexuals from that classification and from the services of the committee.
Russ Ptacek, co-chairman of the Minority Affairs Committee, said that the subcommittee had been formed to help find an acceptable definition.
"The idea of the definition is to form a foundation to work from," he said. "Once you have the foundation, you have the structure you need."
Tom Bäilwe, subcommittee chairman, said that the subcommittee members hoped to "defuse the situation" and help them navigate the controversy of the last few weeks."
KRISTINE MATT, a subcommittee member, said that anyone who felt discriminated against should be represented by the Minority Affairs Committee.
Plateck said that he would like to see the issue solved so that the committee could help minorities at KU. The committee serves minorities by proposing legislation that represents them in grievances against the University of Kansas.
The subcommittee also proposed a bill that outlined the philosophy that the committee should observe in dealing with any minority group. The bill states that the committee should "key in on trying to eliminate discrimination and prejudices on the campus at the University of Kansas."
Most safe substitute for sugar is NutraSweet, professor says
By the Kansan Staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — NutraSweet, the sugar substitute that has attracted concerns about its side effects, is still considered the safest sweetener manufactured, an assistant professor at Kansas Medical Center said recently.
"I would say that it is not an ideal substitute for sugar in that it can't be used in all foods," said Deborah Kipp, assistant professor in dietetics and nutrition. "But evidence suggests that it is the safest sugar substitute."
"When aspartame is digested, it breaks down into two amino acids and is metabolized just like food are." Kipp said. "Aspartame is considered a bright change because it can be metabolized."
KIPP ALSO SAID that people suffering from PKU, an enzyme deficiency disease, would have to limit the amount of aspartame they consume because it would break down into an amino acid that they could not metabolize. Aspartame is the generic term for NutraSweet.
The drawbacks of the new sweetener, she said, are that it cannot be heated or kept in liquid form for an extended length of time or it will decompose.
In 1981, the Food and Drug Administration determined that aspartame was a food additive.
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NutraSweet is manufactured in powdered form by Searle Corp. and, according to a pamphlet published by Searle, can be added to such foods as breakfast cereals, baked goods, puddings, pies and salads. The pamphlet says that NutraSweet can also be used in powdered drink mixes.
The FDA banned cyclamates several years ago because the agency determined that it caused bladder cancer in laboratory animals, she said.
CYCLAMATES AND saccharin, two artificial sweeteners that have been used in the past, cannot be broken down by enzymes of their chemical composition, she said.
Kipp said that soft drink companies had been mixing NutraSweet into liquid form and adding it, along with saccharin, to diet soft drinks.
But, according to the journal, additional studies on laboratory animals must be conducted.
"It really doesn't affect that many people. Kipp said, "but it is a concert."
RICHARD J. WURTMAN, professor of neuroendocrinology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is now experimenting with NutraSweet. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, Wurtman said that consuming large amounts of aspartame may affect brain neurotransmitters, which would affect behavior.
Free Lecture
How to Photograph Artwork
by Richard Skoonberg Thurs., Feb. 23 7:30 p.m. Lawrence Art Center
sponsored by the Lawrence Art Guild
BBQ SANDWICH SPECIAL COUPON ONE DOLLAR OFF
Any Pit BBQ Sandwich Smokehouse-Downtown
$1
Offer void after 2/26/84
719 Massachusetts
Downtown Lawrence
No Other Coupons Accepted With This Offer
No deliveries
1 sub/coupon
1 coupon/person
UP&UNDER
403 N.2nd 842-0012
Open Stage at the Up and Under
Every Wed. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.