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The University Daily Kansan
Today: Partly cloudy with a high of 52 and a low of 39.
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Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a high of 42 and a low of 27.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Friday, November 10, 2000
Sports: The Kansas men's basketball team squeaked by UCLA last night, 99-98. SEE PAGE 1B
Inside: Mullets, the short-on-top, long-inback hairstyles, continue to fascinate.
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. LIT NO. 54 For comments, contact Nathan Willis or Chris Borniger at 864-4810 or e-mail editor@kansan.com
SEE PAGE 6A
A supporter of Al Gore (left) and a George W. Bush supporter protest in West Palm Beach Florida about a claimed problem with some ballots. Officials said yesterday it could be as late as next Tuesday before the state had certified Florida ballot results. AFP photo
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Confusion surrounds vote-recount debacle
By Leita Schultes
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Americans still do not know who their next president will be, but for some students at the University of Kansas, the election is a thing of the past.
Robin Sullivan, Kansas City, Kan., senior and College Republicans member, said she had lost interest in the 24-hour coverage of Florida's results.
Sullivan said the election had been so drawn out and the candidates were so similar that the winner of the presidency was of only minor significance.
But for Florida vote counters, the race was tight and serious.
George W. Bush's lead against AI Gore shrank to fewer than 300 votes yesterday by unofficial count, along with allegations of irregularities swirling and ballots from overseas residents still to be counted.
Recount results from 66 of the state's 67 counties gave Republican Bush a lead of 229 votes out of nearly 6 million cast, according to an unofficial tally by The Associated Press. The original "final" margin had been reported at 1,784.
The official recount lagged behind, and Secretary of State Katherine Harris told an early evening news conference that it could be as late as next Tuesday before the state had certified ballot results from 61 counties. She also pointed out that it would take even longer — at
least until Nov. 17 — to tabulate ballots cast by Floridians overseas and postmarked by Election Day.
The Gore campaign has criticized the ballots used in Palm Beach County as confusing, and has asked for a hand count of votes cast there and in three other counties. Palm Beach County agreed to hand-count ballots in three precincts tomorrow.
There also is a legal challenge pending in state court with the support of Democrats who say a poor ballot design in Palm Beach County led some Gore supporters to inadvertently mark their ballots for Pat Buchanan.
But Aaron Profitt, Overland Park senior, said ballots were typically confusing, and it was the voter's responsibility to read and understand them.
"I'm not all up at arms about potential misvoting." he said.
fig. 13a
Harris said that thus far 53 of Florida's 67 counties had forwarded recount materials to the state.
Peter Gogol, Cranston, R.I., freshman and a member of Young Democrats, said Gore picked up a couple of thousand votes during the recount and said he hoped this election would cause people to question the system and hold vote counters more accountable.
In addition to the partial recount-by-hand in Palm Beach County, the board in Broward County arranged a meeting for today to discuss the Gore campaign's request for a manual recount there.
— The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Protesters question election
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Bv Melissa Davis
For the first time in more than a century, the presidency could go to the candidate who didn't win the popular vote, leaving some University of Kansas students questioning the electoral process.
Protesters gathered outside Watson Library last night to draw awareness to what they call a suspicious form of voting. The electoral college, rather than popular vote, ultimately will decide whether George W. Bush or Al Gore will become the next president.
Kiran Jayaram, Kansas City, Mo., graduate student, organized the protest. Jayaram has questioned the electoral college process for years.
"The people should decide, not the process," he said to a small crowd last night.
Jayaram said the protest was not about parti-sanship, but about his objections to an outdated process.
The electoral college consists of representatives from each state who vote on behalf of the citizens of that state. The number of electors from each state is equal to the number of state representatives and senators from that state.
The final decision in the presidential election rests with Florida. Whoever wins the state's 25 electoral votes will surpass the crucial 270-vote mark needed to win the race.
Jayaram told fellow protesters that the slogan, "One person, one vote," did not seem to apply to this year's election.
"Approximately 19,000 votes were thrown out in Florida," he said. "If one person has one vote, then who says we no longer count?"
Ben Burton, left, Ocean, N.J., senior, listens to KiraJayram, Kansas City, Ma., graduate student, talk about the electoral college. Several students gathered to support Jayram's protest late yesterday afternoon in front of Watson Library. Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
so close and that the process needed to be over.
Jeremy Gander, Osatwatomie senior and protester, said he thought the electoral college should split votes within states so it represented the people and so a candidate didn't take all.
Jayaram said the electoral college had gained more attention this year because the election was so close and that the process needed to be revised
Isadora Delvechoe, New Haven, Conn., junior,
sale people should question the electoral college
"We need to implement the same rules and guidelines we require other nations to have," Delvecchio said.
Edited by Kathryn Moore
The freshman experience II
Editor's note: During Hawk Week, the Kansan asked a group of new students to start recording their experiences and thoughts about their new lives at the University of Kansas.
The Kansan wanted to see the University through the eyes of students from different backgrounds and to gauge their initial reactions to the University and the people here as the students experienced the transition that comes with life at the University.
The Kansan, first ran excerpts of the journal entries of five freshmen Sept. 27, just after their first month at University. What follows is the second installment of excerpts, which include the students' reflections on their first experiences with college midterms.
Today was the first time I thought of my Aunt Joyce since the funeral. I still miss her, so I wonder how Dad is coping. Death seems so surreal, like the person went on a trip and will be back later but never gets here ... My ENG 102 teacher lost his father. I know I would crack. To lose your parent, you lose that source of advice and counsel ...
Wesley Becks
Age: 19
Hometown:
Topeka
Lives in:
McCollum Hall
Major: political science
Wesley Becks
I had my presentation in Politics in Africa. We did all right. It was more interesting than you could imagine. Like a soap opera: corruption, fighting, stealing, differing personalities and reasons to be involved...
I think I found my future job: US/US envoy to sub-Saharan Africa. I could be man of the year, decade, century and millennium ...
OK, why am I reading European white male after European white male in Western Civ II? Nothing from any Spaniard or Portuguese? I think racism is still prevalent in education. Shakespeare is required. Scholars "interpret" his writing to be so profound. Sometimes it just slickens me ...
I finally got a job. I'm going to tutor for Upward Bound. The pay is good, but I can only work one day a week. I will be tutoring in Lawrence ...
I'm not getting enough sleep. I need to get in the bed at a certain time and stick to it ...
Miderma were kind of a joke for me. I'm a terrible student. When my math teacher was reviewing, I did crossword puzzles. I
rorgot to study for my physics test, and my computer graphics frustrated me to the point of only cramming. ...
I've grown quite a bit since coming down here. I've grown emotionally, spiritually, physically (yeah, my gut is expanding). And Lawrence is starting to feel a little more like home now that I'm getting a feel for the city and growing closer to my friends ...
I've noticed there's a lot of idealists around here. It bothers me that people would waste so much time on worthless causes. People are people, and if you think you can change 2 million or so people's minds by holding up a sign for four hours once a year, you need to step back and reevaluate the situation ...
I still don't have a clue what I want to do with my life. But college is really changing some of my views of life, and I have faith that God is shaping me for the future ...
I've noticed that most people I meet are obsessed with sex and alcohol. Why shouldn't I be just as vocal about the purpose for my life? ...
See FRESHMEN on page 3A
New ventilation system sought to ensure animal safety
By Meghan Bainum
Kansan staff writer
The KU Animal Care Unit is requesting a new $1 million ventilation system to ensure the safety of animals used in its experiments.
The system, known as a HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit), is responsible for the temperature and humidity regulation and the fresh-air flow in the ACU.
Jim Long, assistant provost for planning and facilities operation, said the HVAC system had been in place for 20 to 25 years and needed to be replaced.
In a letter to Long, Jim Bresnahan, director of the ACU, said failure of the HVAC system in the ACU was possible and could pose a threat to animal life and scientific data. Bresnahan declined to comment.
Steve Benedict, associate professor of molecular bioscience and chairman of KU's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, said the animals would be
taken somewhere else if a HVAC failure occurred.
Benedict said the possible problems with the HVAC system were not surprising to those in the Animal Care Unit. System problems had been patched by facilities operations personnel as they were found by a faculty committee designated to ensure the ACU runs properly.
In the letter, Bresnan said he hired a professional consultant to look at the system who found several problems, including obsolete and worn-down system parts.
But Benedict said a HVAC failure was not imminent.
“It’s not like this thing is going to fall out of the ceiling tomorrow.” Benedict said. “Five years from now, it’ll be a huge deal if we don’t do something.”
Bresnahan stated the consultant said that it no longer was cost effective to patch the system and that a new system was needed.
Long said the HVAC replacement request was on a list of repair and rehabilitation projects the University was considering to finance. The request would go before an
Benedict said funding for the project could come from a University fund where serious projects were prioritized, and the plan was to complete the project within three years.
annual committee to decide how much would be financed if needed.
Benedict said he was happy with how the situation was being handled by the University.
"This is perhaps the most caring institution about animals that I've been associated with," Benedict said.
- Edited by Warisa Chulindra
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