Campus/Area
University Daily Kansan
Monday, Dec. 2, 1985
3
News Briefs
Lawrence man dead; suicide suspected
A 62-year-old Lawrence man died Saturday after he apparently shot himself twice in the chest with a .22-caliber rifle, Lawrence police said yesterday.
The man was found dead in his home Saturday by his son.
A suicide note was found in the home.
Police said the son had last talked with his father by phone Thursday. The son told police that his father had been depressed.
Vocal class to sing
The University of Kansas graduate vocal coaching class will perform "Is It Broadway or Is It Opera?" at 8 p.m. today in Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall.
The group will perform selections from American musical theater and opera.
The recital is to include music from "Kiss Me, Kate" by Cole Porter, "Antony and Cleopatra" by Samuel Barber, "Showboat" by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, "Porgy and Bess" by George Gershwin, and "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.
Admission is free.
Colloquy scheduled
Lawrence Feth, chairman of speech-language-hearing, will give a colloquy titled "If Your Eye Sees Things, What Does Your Ear Hear?" at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in 207 Blake Hall.
The colloquy is sponsored by the department of linguistics. The event is free and open to the public.
Applications taken
The Kansan is accepting applications for news and business staff positions for next semester.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. today in the journalism dean's office, 200 Stauffer-Flint Hall. They are available in the Kansan business office, 119 StauFFER-Flint; 200 StauFFER-Flint; and the Student Senate office. B-105 Kansas Union.
The new editor and business manager, to be selected today, will fill staff positions for next semester.
For ideas about campus and area coverage, ask for Lauretta McMillen, campus editor. For features page and magazine ideas or On Campus items, ask for Nancy Haney or Peggy Helsel, features page editors.
For sports, ask for Chris Lazarino, sports editor. For photographs, ask for John Lechliter or Bryan Graves, photo editors.
For questions or complaints, ask for Rob Karwath, editor, or John Hanna, managing editor.
To reach the Kansan business of fice, which handles advertising, call 864-4358.
Weather
Today will be mostly sunny, with a high in the teens and light and variable winds. Tonight will be fair, and the low will be between 5 and 10 degrees. Tomorrow will be partly cloudy with a high around 30 degrees.
From staff and wire reports.
Letter condemns divestment stand
By Jennifer Benjamin Of the Kansan staff
The KU Committee on South Africa said in a letter to KU administrators, dated today, that the University's attitude toward divestment has been backward and unresponsive.
"These behaviors have marked the University of Kansas as outstandingly backward and non-responsive to a great moral issue which is now in the mainstream of international public opinion." the letter said.
Committee members have been working with Blacks Against Aparthied and Black Student Union for the Kansas University Endowment Association's divestment from U.S. companies doing business in racially segregated South Africa.
The letter said, however, that administrators could restore the relationship with the committee by taking two actions.
First, the administration could drop the charges against five students arrested Nov. 4 in Chancellor Gene. A. Budg's suite.
"It it appears that no real disruption of the University took place," the letter said. "It was a spontaneous act that was a response to the frustration felt by many members as a consequence of the various administrative inconsistencies . . ."
Second, the committee requested that Budig publicly call for a meeting among committee members, concerned students, faculty members and KUEA officials.
"The conflict of student groups with the administration came about as a result of the Chancellor's public opposition to divestiture while at the same time claiming to be neutral ..." the letter said.
The committee said Budig had a responsibility to promote dialogue so that a resolution could be made in an orderly fashion.
David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, said he did not want
Weather puts chill on buying
He said he thought it was discourteous of the committee to release a copy of the letter to the Kansan before giving it to the administration.
By Mike Snider Of the Kansan staff
"The administration seems to have forgotten its mission and also seems to be acting as agents of KUEA," the letter said. "The administration agreed categorically to set up meetings during the summer and as a result we compromised on other activities. We suspended all activities that would aggravate relations."
to comment on the proposals until he had read the letter.
"There is no evidence that the administration has sought to mediate differences with us and KUEA . . . In addition, the administration has pursued a hostile and punitive attitude towards KU Committee on South Africa students." the letter said.
Old Man Winter came to Lawrence after his Thanksgiving feast Thursday. He dropped $4\frac{1}{2}$ inches of ice and snow and provided winds of 20-30 mph to mix it up.
The committee members also said their First Amendment rights of free speech had been violated.
Committee members have been harassed for wearing "KU Out of South Africa" buttons, Ungerman said. She said they also had been intimidated by the University's practice of photographing their protests.
The $2\frac{1}{3}$-page letter said the administration was not acting as a mediator between anti-apartheid groups and the Endowment Association, as it had been asked to do by the committee.
The photographs are taken in case of violence, she said. But since KU students have been working toward divestment, protests have not been violent, property has not been damaged and protesters have not resisted arrest, she said.
Jane Ungerman, Lawrence senior and a committee member, said yesterday that committee members promised the administration last semester that they would not disrupt commencement activities by protesting.
His snow and winds chilled a weekend that traditionally means big business for merchants because it marks the beginning of Christmas shopping for most people.
Yesterday on Massachusetts Street only a few hardcore shoppers leaned against the sub-zero winds and trudged the icy sidewalks.
Not this year.
Suzy Mast/KANSAN
Downtown Lawrence business owners had planned a more pleasant greeting for Christmas shoppers, Jim Bateman, vice president of the Downtown Lawrence Association, said yesterday.
"The first Sunday of December is like an open house for downtown merchants." he said.
Downtown merchants had decorated their windows for the Christmas season and most merchants had cookies and cider for Sunday shoppers, Bateman said.
The open house was organized as a way to thank shoppers for their business and to kick off festivities for Christmas, said Susan Cairns, DLA president.
Kristi Girard, 5, thinks before she tells Santa Claus what she wants for Christmas Kristi, the daughter of Lesi Girard 100 Arkansas St., told Santa Claus, alias Chuck McWilliams, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore, that she wanted a big green teddy bear. Santa Claus listened to Kristi yesterday at the Downtown Lawrence Association's hospitality booth. 8 W. Eighth St.
Tom Parks, personnel manager at Litwin's, 830 Massachusetts St., said his business on Friday was "fantastic." but the snow and ice kept shoppers inside yesterday and Saturday.
"It's unfortunate that the weather is not more cooperative," he said. "There are people out there, but it's nothing like it would normally be on the weekend after Thanksgiving."
Laurie Culling, a clerk at Fields,
712 Massachusetts St., said the
weekend shopping crowd was not
what she had expected.
"The first couple days after Thanksgiving, we sell a lot of gifts," he said. "Then it taps off after that."
ment had hired extra employees to handle the Christmas rush, but the store had only normal crowds of shoppers.
“It’s not like the Christmas crowd last year,” she said. “There wasn’t even time to eat lunch then.”
in addition to yesterday's open house, downtown merchants began their Christmas hours yesterday. Through the rest of December, downtown businesses will be open until 8:30 p.m. weeknights.
She said the store's manage-
Also, free downtown parking will be available this month.
Chris Magerl/KANSAN
Ted Faucher stands over part of the kingdom of Legos he created in the basement of his house, 1129 Cynthia Drive. Faucher, who received a doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Kansas in 1979, has been designing his Lego creations for 12 years.
Local man uses versatile toy
Building empires is a snap
A red electric Lego engine chugs slowly, then picks up speed in the basement of a Lawrence home. Across the room, a Lego town and three castles sit in varying states of construction.
The builder is Ted Faucher, a part-time psychological counselor in Lawrence and a Lego enthusiast.
"Legos are really wonderful; wonderful toys," Faucher said Saturday as he demonstrated how the helicopter blades rotate and the crane lifts bricks in the tiny town.
By Stefani Day Of the Kansan staff
Faucher, who received a doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Kansas in 1979, said he had been collecting Legos for 12 years.
His first project was a 2-foot-tall model of New York City's skyline.
"But of course I needed the Legos for something else. So after a year of sitting in the house, it was time to take it down and build something else to get oohs and aahs."
Faucher, 1129 Cynthia Drive, said the reason he originally became interested in Legos was that they could be easily assembled and reassembled.
"In a day when we fulfill all sorts of vocational roles, it's hard to see ends to projects," he said. "This is something I can work on at my own speed, complete to my own specifications and rearrange to see if it becomes better.
The toy, which originated in Denmark, has grown into a big business. It is no longer simply a children's game.
"It's like creating part of a world in which one has more control."
Creating with Lego bricks and toys also allows him to pursue an artistic idea that is difficult with conventional media.
The many reasons Faucher chose Legos for his hobby are joined by another he discovered later.
A 4-foot Gulliver with dozens of Lilliputians took 110 hours to build and 18,155 Lego components.
"It has some elements of perfection that appeal to me," he said. "It's clean. The lines are sharp and clearly defined. They have a nice shine to them. And it looks nice when you finish."
Faucher has visited a Lego exhibition that travels internationally and includes scale models of the Taj Mahal, the Elifel Tower and a 5-foot model of the Statue of Liberty.
"Their slogan is really true," he said. "There is no end to Legos."
Legos a$ so have found their way in to Faucher's counseling office.
"Because it's a toy, it's a good icebreaker," he said. "I have learned a lot from two 12-year-olds about how they handle various aspects of their home environment."
"When I first got the train, my children went to bed at 9 o'clock and I stayed up to one working on it," he said. "I was so excited, I worked on it for the next two nights."
"The sparkle in a young person's eyes does a lot in keeping it going," he said.
He also has spare Lego sets at home that he breaks out for young friends who are feeling unloved. Making them happier, he said, is part of the reason he keeps working with Legos.
A friend brought him the electric train from England.
cientious and how they handled frustration and criticism.
Faucher said that in a year, he spent about 24 hours putting his Legos together.
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"But I spend much more time actually thinking about it, meditating about it," he said.
Faucher said that watching the children play with Legos helped him determine their eye and hand coordination, whether they could follow directions, whether they were cons-
Most of his Legos are gifts, he said,
and friends who travel in Europe bring
him sets he can't find in the United States.
He pirated pieces from a large castle that had taken all his red bricks. The castle was waiting for modifications anyway, he said.
Although he has been too busy to work on the railroad lately, Faucher said, "I have great pride in my unfinished railroad and to-be-modified castle. As I pass by, it's still beautiful."
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