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Kansan
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Today: Partly cloudy with a high of 82 and a low of 59.
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy with a high of 80 and a low of 56.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Thursday, September 28, 2000
Jayplay: Harvest of Arts festival showcases work of local artists. SEE PAGE 1B
Inside: Graduate's battle with cancer gets a boost from a former KU basketball player.
SEE PAGE 3A
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 111 NO. 23 For comments, contact Nathan Willis or Chris Borniger at 864-4810 or e-mail editor@kansan.com
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Tests spawn dissection dispute
Biology student objects to method
By Jessie Meyer
writer@kansan.com
Kansan campus editor
While the rest of Janice Manuel's biology class observes disemboweled animals today, she will stand firm in her refusal to take part in any activities that involve experimentation on animals in the classroom.
"I have been morally against it for years," Manuel said. "I just think it's wrong to use
animals in that kind of way."
Because Manuel, O'Fallon, Ill., sophomore, feels she is being forced to take tests and quizzes that go against her moral beliefs, she is preparing to take legal action against the University of Kansas. Yesterday, Manuel contacted the National Anti-Vivisection Society and the Animal Legal Defense Fund in search of an attorney.
Although Manuel is not required to participate in the physical cutting of the animals.
"I don't believe that just because I am interested in the medical field, that means I have to dissect animals," said Manuel, whose major is biology. "An animal is so much different than a human."
sne is expected to view the dissected animals for her Biology 152 exams and quizzes — a requirement she equates with dissection.
When Manuel questioned the requirement, she was told it was necessary that she take exams that were comparable to the other students.'
Dean Stetler, director of undergraduate biological sciences, said students were given the option whether to dissect the animals but were expected, in fairness to other students, to take hands-on tests.
"We will never require them to dissect, but they will need to take an exam that's fair to the rest of the class," Stetler said. "In some cases, it does require that they view a dissected organism. Usually, by that time,
there's really no choice."
Sutter, who said this was the first problem he had heard of in four years, said that students were given alternatives to dissection, such as computer programs featuring virtual dissection and modular animals. But he said dissection and hands-on work was the best way for students to learn.
"A computerized picture is always going to look exactly the same," Stetler said. "An actual organism — that's not going to be the case."
But Jodie Wiederkehr, program associate for the NAVS, disagreed.
See TESTS on page 2A
New garage only half full needs users for toll spots
By Rob Pazell
writer@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
Finding a spot in the new east parking garage isn't tough. On an average weekday, the garage is only half full, KU Parking Department officials said.
But Don Kearns, director of parking, said he expected the garage to start filling up as the semester progressed and students began taking advantage of the garage's convenient location at the top of the Hill.
"It just takes time for people to get used to it." Kearns said. "Once people do use it, they realize they don't want to park anywhere else."
The department has sold all 200 of its available student permits and 101 faculty permits, leaving 515 spaces open for people to park on a pav-by-the-hour system.
Kearns said the department wouldn't know how much revenue the garage was generating until the end of October.
It will pay $245,905 in interest every October then pay the same amount of interest plus the $565,000 principal due in April. The total comes close to $1 million a year, Kearns said, which the parking department plans to pay on time.
The $7.6 million garage was paid for by a bond from the Kansas Development Finance Authority. The parking department, which doesn't receive state funds, expects to pay off the bond by April 1, 2014.
The department has been charging $10 for football game-day parking in the garage. Donna Hultine, assistant director of parking, said the department sold 370 spaces for the first home game and 217 for the second game. Kearns said many season ticket holders parked in the west garage for free then took $2 shuttles to the games.
The parking department also is advertising the garage to visiting schools during football games such as in-state rival Kansas State University, which comes to Lawrence Saturday, Oct. 7. Kearns expects the garage to be full for that game.
The parking department doesn't expect the east garage to begin filling to capacity until the end of the year. Hultine said the garage hadn't been filling so far because parking hadn't been as bad as in past years.
"Bottom line is, we've got to keep winning football games," Kearns said. "The more games we win, the more tolls we sell."
"Last year, there was a lot of competition with visitor parking," Hultine said.
Kearns said inclement weather in the coming months would be a reason for people to use the new garage. He said that in the past, the west garage had filled for weather conditions such as sleet, snow and hall.
"Once the weather turns ugly, that's when people head for the garage," Kearns said.
Edited by Warisa Chulindra
Flashy jewelry
Enjoying the pleasant weather yesterday, Flash, a Phish follower from Key West, Fla., makes a hemp necklace in front of Wescoe Hall. Flash accepts donations for his jewelry. Photo by Justin Schmidt/KANSAN
Students down under get Olympic perk
Studying abroad turns into vacation for 13 Jayhawks
Ryan Schulze, Dakota Dunes, S.D., junior, looks out at the South Pacific Ocean from the beach in Melbourne, Australia. Schulze is one of 13 University of Kansas students studying abroad in Australia who got a break from classes to attend the 2009 Olympic Games in Sydney, Contributed photo
By Leita Schultes
By Leita Schuttes
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
It's a good time to be in Australia. Just ask the 13 University of Kansas students who are down under studying abroad.
Renee Bergene, program coordinator for the Office of Study Abroad, said the universities in New South Wales gave students a three-week vacation to see Olympic events or travel. The students, most of whom are attending the University of Newcastle, which is a couple of hours from Sydney, took advantage of those three weeks.
Lindsay Kincaid, Overland Park sophomore, wrote in an email that she planned to attend the Olympics and see artistic gymnastics, men's basketball, softball and beach volleyball.
Attending the Olympics in Sydney could be considered the chance of a lifetime, but it's one that comes at a cost. Bergene said most events cost between $50 and $75 to attend, depending on their popularity.
Bergene said an alternative option for students was volunteering to help at the games. But volunteer work was time consuming, and most students chose to attend a few events and then travel, she said.
Andrea Quill, Schaumburg, Ill., senior, was one example. She attended the gymnastics finals on Monday, but spent the majority of her time sightseeing.
Quill flew to Cairns to scuba dive along with two other girls. Then it was off to the Atherton Tablelands to canoe and mountain bike, backpack and sail.
"You would be surprised how different the people are here," Quill wrote in an e-mail. "They actually go out of their way to help you out and be friendly! And they are so laid back!"
Jonathon Fewins, Redfield junior, also observed the people, but wrote more about the atmosphere created by the Olympics.
Ryan Schulze, Dakota Dunes,
S.D., junior, said many residents of Sydney left town for the Olympics because they felt the transportation system was inadequate.
"The Australians really have mixed emotions about the Olympics," he wrote. "Some of them are really looking forward to the events, and then there are others that don't want to have anything to do with it."
"I've come to find that many residents of Sydney are not looking forward to the Olympics," he wrote.
But regardless of traffic jams and overcrowded hotels, the Olympics landed in Sydney and are about to draw to a close. Bergene said it was likely students would also continue to land there on study abroad programs, noting that it was one of the more popular spots that students chose.
The Olympics have given the continent a lot of exposure, she said, and Australia is an easy choice for English-speaking students. Besides that, she said it was a fun and beautiful place. Kiaras couldn't agree more.
Kincaid could agree more. "I am loving Australia," she wrote. "It is more incredible than I ever could have imagined."
- Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
Task Force recommends new building for lab space
Bv Luke Wetzel
Special to the Kansan
In years to come, students looking out from the concrete expanses of Wescoe Terrace may see a new figure interrupting the skyline — a six-story science laboratory.
The building was one of several recommendations outlined by the Science Education Task.Force in a report released yesterday.
The task force, consisting of 16 KU scientists and created to foster scientific education, met regularly from October 1999 to May 2000 to assess the teaching of science at the University of Kansas and elsewhere in the state.
Among the issues discussed was the need for new laboratories.
"One of the things that constrains us right now is, in fact, facilities," said Sally Frost Mason, task force member and dean of liberal arts and sciences, in a written statement.
"It's very difficult to talk and meet in groups if you have a bookshelf or a bench in front of you."
Joe Heppert, associate professor of chemistry and vice chairman of the task force, said
Joe Heppert
Science Education
Task Force vice
chairman
the idea for a new building predated the task force, but that the recommendation reemphasized its importance.
Heppert said the narrow laboratories of Malott Hall were constraining for group work and integrating new technology.
The proposed building, which would be situated just east of Malott and would cost roughly $60 million, would house the chemistry department.
Heppert said the state Board of Education's de-emphasis of the teaching of evolution was a factor in the creation of the task force.
"It's very difficult to talk and meet in groups if you have a book-shelf or a bench in front of you." Heppert said.
"There was a concern about what KU was doing to foster scientific education," Heppert said. "It was an indication that there's a significant portion of the population that doesn't have a fundamental understanding of what science is."
Chancellor Robert Hemenway echoed this concern in his convocation speech Aug. 23.
"I did not want people to think that the University of Kansas was not going to be a part of the cutting edge of science education," Hemenway said.
Heppert is director of the University's Center for Science Education, a new organization dedicated to the continuing improvement of science education. He said he expected that improvements in facilities and education would help draw more faculty and research to the science department, as well as establish the University as a scientific resource for the state.
Heppert said the task force emphasized that even non-science majors needed to learn about scientific inquiry, so they could make responsible decisions regarding science and health.
"We want students to approach science as something exciting, engaging and relevant," he said. "We want to help people to be literate about what science is and what it's not."
-- Edited by Shawn Hutchinson