AAAAAAHHH
Kansan
Weather
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**Today:** Partly cloudy with a high about 85 and a low of 62.
**Tomorrow:** Partly cloudy with a high of 85 and a low of 61.
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Tuesday, September 5, 2000
Sports: The Kansas football team got off to another sluggish start,losing 31-17 to SMU in Dallas.
SEE PAGE 10A Inside; Faculty members filed discrimination complaints against the University. SEE PAGE 3A
SEE PAGE 3A
(USPS 650-640) * VOL. 111 NO. 09 For comments, contact Nathan Willis or Chris Borniger at 864-4810 or e-mail editor@kansan.com
University falls in rankings
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Scholastic gains remain priority for institution
By Jennifer Valadez
writer @kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The University of Kansas was ranked 42nd nationally on U.S. News and World Report magazine's 2001 list of the top 147 institutions.
Although it tied with Auburn University, the University's latest placement fell from its previous ranking of 38th. That follows a drop from 30th to 38th the year before.
Kansas was not listed among the top 50 best value public and private universities after ranking as high as 11th four years ago.
"We don't know the data, but it's clear that the
University's academic reputation is the same as last year," said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. "If it follows form, where KU's rankings have been affected is in its financial support."
Hemenway added that the University's descent in rank was unrelated to the financial support of faculty, as it has been in previous years.
The seven factors the magazine used to calculate institutional rankings were academic reputation, student retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate and alumni giving rate.
Also receiving national recognition were the undergraduate programs of the schools of engineering and business. The School of Business program finished in a nine-way tie for 41st place, higher than last year's 45th place. The graduate School of Pharmacy placed 21st overall.
"We are continuously making improvements in the quality of education for our students and are certainly pleased that the report recognizes the excellence of our programs," said Keith
Chauvin, associate dean of business.
Chauvin also attributed the school's ranking to its success in broadening opportunities for students to have international experiences as part of their business educations.
The undergraduate program in the School of Engineering was ranked 67th among private and public institutions that offer a Ph.D program. It was ranked 74th the year before. The school finished in a six-way tie this year.
Lynn Bretz, associate director of University Relations, said that although a combination of factors contributed to the magazine's ranking of the University, the University's academic rating had remained stable.
"The faculty has been doing more to make themselves visible," said Carl Locke, dean of engineering. "It's obvious that the perception of the school went up."
"Academics is where it always has been, and that's good," Bretz said. "We do want to be a top 25 university, and we will get there."
DECLINING STANDING
Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
The University of Kansas' ranking among the top 50 public universities in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report, dropped during the past three years.
Here's how individual areas of the University ranked among all universities in the most recent survey:
- 1999 ranking: 30th
- 2000 ranking: 38th
- 2001 ranking: 42nd
Undergraduate business program: 41 st
Undergraduate engineering program: 67th
Graduate pharmacy program: 21st place
Source: U.S. News and World Report
KU server to include more perks
By Jason Krall writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
A new file server will offer students e-mail with perks — for a small price.
By the end of the year, Academic Computing Services hopes to have half of the student body switched from their "falcon," "raven" and "eagle" email servers to a new system with more features. Software for the program will cost students $5.
ACS has already set up new students this fall on a Microsoft Exchange server. The server, accessed through the Microsoft Outlook program, includes a calendar and address book. It also has the ability to access class message boards and file-sharing folders set up by professors, through which students will be able to turn in homework or download handouts. Eventually, all student e-mail accounts will be transferred to the new system.
The program is available on disk for $5 through the KU Computer Center and Networking and Telecommunications Services. The software is free to students, but the fee covers distribution costs, said Cathy Smith, director of Academic Computing Services.
The message-board system, called "groupware," allows students an opportunity to discuss assignments and compare notes. Professors also will be able to direct discussions on groupware, Smith said.
"The instructor can put out a question for class discussion, and students can reply," she said. "Through the sharing folders, they can put out documents for students to pick up, and they can have students turn in homework to those folders. It's very dynamic."
The transition meets a goal set by Chancellor Robert Hemenway in 1998 stating that online services for students needed to be expanded to include more features than just e-mail. The server was first brought up last spring and also offers free Web hosting to students.
"A lot of people use the calendar as a daily planner," said Natalie Nguyen, Lenexa freshman. Nguyen used Outlook in her job with an insurance company this summer. She said the program was well organized, and she often used it to leave messages with co-workers.
Labor Day theater
- Edited by Casey Franklin
Elizabeth, played by Megan Dillingham, graduate teaching assistant in English, is shocked and slightly flattered when a secret service agent, played by Jim Hartman, professor of English, shows up at her apartment. Making the Call was one of eight 10-minute plays staged by the English Alternative Theatre last night at Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall. Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
'Smart' fire alarms still uncommon in KU buildings
By Rob Pazell
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
University of Kansas students and faculty shouldn't assume that a fire alarm will call in the cavalry.
An alarm that rang for 20 minutes Aug. 25 at Bailey Hall could have been silenced sooner if someone had called it in, the KU Public Safety Office said.
John Mullens, assistant director of public safety, said Bailey Hall was one of many campus buildings that weren't
Because the School of Education recently moved its offices from Bailey Hall, the people who normally call in alarms weren't there Aug. 25.
uretically tied into the public safety office. A handful of people who work in these buildings are picked by the public safety office to call in fire alarms from emergency phones after exiting buildings, he said.
"A similar situation occurred last year. No one responded because no one was aware."
"A similar situation occurred
John Mullens
assistant director of public safety
Mullens, who runs the security and emergency planning unit, said that 180 campus buildings had fire alarms that didn't ring through to the public safety
office but that the University was working to upgrade the fire system. Alarms in 33 buildings ring directly to the public safety office, with 15 of those on the new "smart" fire alarm system.
when a smart detector senses fire and smoke, it notifies the 911 center, the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical department and a computer system in the public safety office, said Bob Rombach, university fire marshal coordinator. The computers pull up a
See 'SMART'on page 3A
Heat hurts performance in classroom
By Karen Lucas
The recent heat wave has left its mark in classrooms.
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Justin Lippier, Dallas sophomore, said it was uncomfortable to sit in 3140 Wescoe Hall, where he has a philosophy class.
"With so many kids in the big lecture hall, you can't even pay attention because it's so hot," he said. "It's hard to take notes."
Steve Unruh, Lawrence sophomore, told a similar story of a classroom on the lower level of Snow Hall.
"You can tell the temperature goes way up about halfway through class," Unruh said. "My attention wanes considerably as the heat goes up."
"The air wasn't circulating," Kaplan said. "I had to step out in the hall for a few minutes just during class."
Josh Kaplan, Overland Park freshman, said a problem with the air conditioning in a classroom on the third floor of Strong Hall forced him and a few others to leave their math class to cool off one day last week.
Other classrooms on campus have been comfortable.
Kaplan also said a few students were falling asleep in the hot classroom.
"The attendance was very good," he said. "The students had done the reading. They participated in class discussions, and I don't think the heat negatively affected their performance at all."
Bill Tuttle, professor of history and American studies, said he didn't notice any problems with his classes in Wescoe and Nunemaker halls.
Satya Mandal, associate professor of mathematics, teaches in Snow and Strong halls and said he noticed that even though some students came into class looking tired, they carried on normally during class — asking questions, taking notes and talking to other students.
The air conditioning broke down for a few days last week in the Blake Hall room in which Kendra Knight, Baldwin City freshman, meets with her Spanish 105 class. A fan brought temporary relief.
"There was a fan in the class when we arrived, and it felt great," she said. "Then, another teacher in the building came and took it from us because it was hers, I guess."
She also said the heat had a negative effect on the class activities.
"You don't want to interact with people when it's so hot," she said. "I don't think anybody feels like getting up and talking to one another."
But Terah Isaacson, a Salina junior who lives in Watkins Scholarship Hall, which has no air conditioning in the rooms, said she could not complain about classroom temperatures.
"It's just a sense of relief," she said. "You actually look forward to going to class."
Michael Elliot, Wichita senior, said what bothered him was having to walk to class in the heat.
"By the time I get to class, I'm sweating quite a bit," he said. "It doesn't affect my school work, but it's just uncomfortable."
— Edited by Amy Randolph
THIS WEEK'S WEATHER
Today:
High: Mid 80s
Low: 60 to 65
Tomorrow:
High: 85 to 90
Low: 60s
Thursday:
High: 90s
Low: 60s
Friday:
High: 90s
Low: 65 to 75
Saturday:
High: 90s
Low: 65 to 75
Source: National Weather Service