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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Moran quits Eisenhower Memorial project in D.C.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members of a federal commission planning a memorial near the National Mall to honor the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower are voting on how to proceed after years of controversy.
WASHINGTON — After more than a decade of planning and millions spent to build a memorial near the National Mall honoring the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a key lawmaker who has helped oversee the project from the start is stepping away.
Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran resigned from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission before the panel voted Wednesday to move forward with a design by architect Frank Gehry after years of controversy.
Moran quietly submitted his resignation last week after concluding that paying homage to lke's home state of Kansas in the design has become a stumbling block for Gehry's concept for the memorial park, a spokeswoman for the senator said.
Gehry proposed a memorial park with statues of Ike as president and as World War II general. A large metal tapestry would depict the Kansas landscape of Eisenhower's boyhood home.
Eisenhower's family has opposed the tapestry concept and called for a simpler design. Critics have mounted a campaign against the design that has delayed the project for years.
Moran wants the memorial to be built and has advocated for Kansas to have a presence in the design, spokeswoman Garrette Silverman said. But he decided that might be a hindrance to completing the memorial.
"Sen. Moran's ongoing support for the inclusion of Kansas has led him to conclude that this stance
is blocking a memorial to President Eisenhower from completion." Silverman said in an email. "He appreciates the dedication of the Eisenhower Commission staff in seeing that this memorial becomes a reality and hopes an Eisenhower Memorial is completed soon."
Gehry, the famous Los Angeles-based architect, presented a revised design this month after hearing objections and eliminated two tapestries on the sides of the park, leaving one as a backdrop to keep the Kansas motif. Gehry has said the heartland is central to the war hero and president's legacy as like once noted he was most proud to be from Kansas.
The memorial commission voted 8-2 with one abstention Wednesday to move forward with Gehry's revised design. In October, it will go before a key federal agency that oversees planning for the nation's capital.
Kansas' senators have championed the project for years but have rarely defended it publicly against critics.
Last year, Sen. Pat Roberts said it "brings Kansas to the National Mall" and reflects Eisenhower's roots and values.
Moran was one of the commission's original lawmakers. He began serving in 2001 as a congressman and maintained his seat when he was elected to the Senate nine years later. In June 2013, Moran called on the commission to endorse Gehry's design, and the panel voted unanimously to move forward with the concept.
Critics, though, have continued to campaign against the design.
"We don't object to Kansas being in the memorial, but it should be an image of Kansas that is recognizable as such," said Justin Shubow of the National Civic Art Society, a group that has opposed Gehry's design. "A baron plain of trees is not Kansas, and the fact that it is winter is a bleak and unpleasant image."
Commission Chairman Rocco Siciliano, who served in the Eisenhower White House, thanked Moran for his long service.
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
A passerby looks at the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity's chalk art in front of Wesoce on Tuesday. The art features "Hawktimus Prime" and "BumbleJay."
Homecoming Roundup
THURSDAY:
United Across Borders T-Shirt Drive, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Alumni Center - The Homecoming Steering committee and United Across Borders are hosting a T-shirt drive to donate clothing and blankets to people who can not afford them.
FRIDAY:
Drive continues, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Alumni Center
Football and Flapjacks, $5 per person, 9 a.m. to noon, Alumni Center parking lot- pancake tailgate hosted by The Homecoming Steering Committee
Homecoming Parade, 6 p.m., Massachusetts Street- A parade led by Rob Riggle, this years grand marshall, will include Rolling With the 'Hawks themed floats, banners and vehicles from KU student groups. ExCEL finalists will be showcased.
United Across Borders T-Shirt
Homecoming Pep Rally, right after parade, 8th and New Hampshire Street - This will include performances from the Marching Jayhawks and the KU Spirit Squad.
SATURDAY:
Homecoming Reception, 1 p.m., Alumni Center-Honors all the EXCEL winners, Steering Committee, Grand Marshal, and many more.
KU vs. Texas Football Game, 3 p.m., Memorial Stadium - The homecoming football game between the Jayhawks and the Texas Longhorns.
ExCEL and Homecoming Awards, halftime presentation, Memorial Stadium- Award winners will be announced at halftime in the game.
— Alicia Garza
BOSTON — A time capsule apparently has been found in an unusual place: the head of a lion statue at the building that once served as the seat of Massachusetts government.
Boston time capsule found in head of copper lion statue
The Bostonian Society, which operates a museum at the Old State House, said Tuesday it confirmed the presence of what had long been rumored to be a time capsule from 1901 tucked away inside the copper statue. The statue was recently taken down from the roof as part of a restoration effort.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A fiber optic camera was used to locate the time capsule — in actuality a copper box — in the head of the lion, according to Heather Leet, the society's director of development. The next steps, she said, will include an attempt to carefully open the statue without damaging it, followed by the removal of the box and examination of its contents.
The group first learned of
the potential existence of the time capsule several years ago from a woman who was a descendent of the original sculptor.
The society did some further research and uncovered a 1901 article about the time capsule in The Boston Globe,
"She had a letter from him and a list of things in the time capsule," said Leet.
"We're really looking forward to seeing what those letters say."
HEATHER LEET Bostonian Society
she said.
Newspaper clippings and photographs from the period, along with letters from politicians and other prominent Bostonians of the era, are among the items expected to be found in the box, which could be opened as
early as next week.
"We're really looking forward to seeing what those letters say" said Leet, adding that they could contain messages written to future generations.
The first lion statue, along with that of a unicorn, was placed on the building in 1713 as symbols to mark the unification of England and Scotland, Leet said.
The Boston Massacre took place just outside the building in 1770. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read to Bostonians from the balcony. After the war of independence, the building served as the first seat of Massachusetts government until construction of the current Statehouse in the late 18th century.
The Old State House, among Boston's most popular tourist attractions, has a storied history. It was one of the city's most important civic buildings in colonial times and later became a focal point of the American Revolution.
- Bank online and on your phone
Well, maybe just your banking.
At Commerce Bank, we're working behind the scenes to save you some time ... and a little money, too. A KU Checking Account helps you:
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- Use any Commerce ATM without fees
Use your KU Card to access your Commerce account. It's a whole lot easier than a pop quiz.
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