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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
MONDAY
DECEMBER 10,2001
WWW.KANSAN.COM
ISSUE 70 VOLUME 112
Pearl Harbor survivor tells story to group
Former KU professor recollects sights,sounds of surprise attack
By Matt Norton Kansan staff writer
Vince Muirhead still remembers the sight of fiery jet engines of Japanese fighter planes over Pearl Harbor.
"A commotion started, and we looked out the porthole," Muirhead said. "And here was a Japanese airplane about 100 feet off the ground going away from us. We could see the red meatballs as it went by."
The former University of Kansas aerospace engineering professor and department chairman spoke Friday afternoon to a group of about 75 students in the Aerospace Colloquium about his experiences at Pearl Harbor, and the circumstances surrounding the attack.
sources surrounding him.
Muirhead said he had been stationed on the USS Maryland after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy. On Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, Muirhead said he had planned to take his new 8 mm movie camera and get some pictures of the weekly hula show that took place on the island of Oahu — where the naval base was located.
Long after legal segregation ended, KU's traditional greek system struggles to offer minorities...
Then the Japanese fighter planes attacked. Muirhead didn't get to go to the show.
"Look at all of the technology we have now," Ross said. "A lot of it was developed during the war."
States to be born Adam Ross, Lenexa senior, said he attended the event because he was a World War II buff and had grandparents who served in the war.
who served as captain. Ross said he was struck by Muirhead's story of looking out the porthole to see the Japanese plane. Ross said he thought the day Pearl Harbor was bombed was one of the most important days of the 20th century.
Though many lives were lost in the attack at Pearl Harbor, Muirhead said the situation would have been far worse had it happened today, mainly because of improved television capabilities. He said TV coverage of war could hamper a country's military strategy by alerting an enemy of U.S. attack plans.
"Fortunately we didn't have TV", he said. "CNN wasn't there to report it to the Japanese."
Muirhead said many people had tried to assign blame for the attack. He made comparisons between Pearl Harbor and the September terrorist attacks by saying that in both situations there were intelligence reports suggesting an attack might occur. But, because there were no specific details in either case, neither attack was prevented.
Muirhead said that instead of trying to place the blame for not being ready on a individual or group, Americans should understand that it is difficult for the United States to be on full alert all the time.
brotherhood
STORY BY J. R. MENDOZA
Contact Norton at 864-4810
When Eddie Penn scans the group pictures of former members that line the walls of his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, one thing strikes him about the faces looking back — none are Black like his.
Penn, McPherson senior, is the only Black among 86 current members and one of only a handful of minorities belonging to KU's traditional fraternities and sororites.
Although all White greek units abandoned rules for biding minority membership after the civil rights advances of the 1960s, most of them remain island of White isolation today.
Their members and leaders talk about the importance of diversity, but they don't target or succeed in recruiting Blacks and Latinos, who often prefer their own fraternities and sororites.
be then born as a Because prospective recruits of traditional Greek houses are nominated by current or former members, who are overwhelmingly White, few minorities are invited to rush parties. The result is
a system that is essentially separate — Whites in the traditional fraternities and Blacks and Latinos in their own.
Angie Carr, greek programs coordinator, said traditional fraternities and sororites didn't keep track of the number of minority members. But an inspection of fraternity and sorority member photographs in last year's 2001 Jayhawker yearbook revealed only six Black members in sororites and 11 in fraternities — a total of 17 Blacks out of 3,164 members. That means KU's 35 traditional fraternities and sororites have an African-American membership of .5 percent, less than one Black for every two Greek houses. In contrast, 2.6 percent of the KU student body is Black.
If the traditional greek houses had the same percentage of minorities as the entire KU student body, they would have 285 minorities and 114 of them would be Black. Some fraternities and sororites have no Black or Latino members.
Besides the lack of effort to recruit minorities, economic factors could play a role. Traditional Greek membership costs more than joining historically Black or Latino chapters.
cally black or Latino. Also, a system of Black and Latino chapters exists to offer an alternative for minorities who want a greek experience, but choose not to join a traditional chapter.
Even the governing bodies of the traditional chapters and Black and Latino chapters are separate. The traditional greeks fall under the jurisdiction of the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association and the Black and Latino Greeks are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council Exceptions to the trend
The few minority students who have joined virtually all-White chapters say lack of diversity was less important than the emphasis on grades and living in a nice house.
SEE PLEDGE PAGE 5A
Study links leg problems to Creatine
By Mike Alzamora and Lisa Starr Special to the Kansan
teaching assistant.
Michael Carper spent nearly 10 months studying the effects of Creatine in a study titled "Lower Leg Anterior Compartment Pressure Response Prior to, During and Following Creatine Supplementation."
It increases physical performance and helps build muscle mass, but the nutrition supplement Creatine Monohydrate may have potentially serious side effects on the lower leg, according to a recent study by a KU graduate teaching assistant.
Carper found a significant increase in compartment pressure among all 16 study participants. Simply put, muscle compartment pressure is similar to tire pressure. Muscles have limits to the amount of pressure they can hold.
amount of pressure two groups of healthy males who received different doses of Creatine. One group received 0.3 grams per kilogram of body weight, while the other group received 0.03 grams per kilogram.
Study participants took Creatine for 35 days and then stopped use for the following 28 days.
g 28 days.
"I was surprised that both groups had
Lawrence Magee, director of sports medicine for KU athletics, supervised the Creatine study. He helped design Carper's study and performed the muscle biopsies that tested the amount of muscle mass.
similar increases in compartment pressure, and they were significant," Carper said.
Magee said that some athletes developed compartment syndrome because of Creatine supplement use. Compartment syndrome, or excessive swelling, occurs when the muscle expands more than 20 percent of its original size and cannot expand any further.
If this condition persists, Carper said a fasciotomy might be needed — surgery that goes into the muscle tissue to relieve pressure. He said that the muscle actually "pops" like a small explosion when the pressure is released. Surgeons reported finding "muscle death," or white muscle tissue, during these procedures.
Fred Roll, director of strength and conditioning for the KU Athletics Department, said that when an individual suffers from compartment pressure, the excessive swelling was very obvious.
Beginning in 1997, the KU Athletics Department supplied Creatine to ath-
SEE CREATINE PAGE 3A
Ambler looks back on work that shaped University
By Jeff Denton Kansan staff writer
David Ambler knew he wanted to spend his life working with college students when he helped Kent State University through one of the most famous tragedies that has ever befallen an American college campus.
"That was an extremely defining
Ambler was 33 years old and the assistant vice president for student affairs when on May 4,1970,four students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen during a Vietnam War protest.
"I that w moment in my life," Ambler said. "It was such a radical effect on American society, the high-water mark of anti-war protest, the beginning of the end of Vietnam involvement."
Thursday, Ambler announced his
David Ambler
retirement as the University of Kansas' vice chancellor for student affairs. He spent seven years at Kent State in Kent, Ohio, before coming to KU in 1977, when he took his current post.
took his current job. Ambler will retire on Aug. 1, 2002, after having helped to shape student services at KU for a quarter of a century.
"I just wanted to make sure that I treated students fairly and that they were able to participate. We need to work a little harder to personalize the educational experience."
Student body president Justin Mills said he had worked with Ambler less than other student body presidents. But Mills said he respected Ambler for his calm confidence
"I always told myself I would retire at around this age," said Ambler, 64. "It was a good compromise. I had taken the attitude that your career has to move with opportunity. But it's been a very good ride here, a very good fit.
"He's easy to talk to and he has such a sure way of doing things," Mills said. "He's very personable, very likable. He's done some good things here."
some good things As he prepares to leave, Ambler said he was comfortable with the University's goals and potential.
Ambler spearheaded several University programs — ranging from Hawk Week. to the Presidents' Roundtable, a student advisory board, to services for the prevention of sexual abuse and alcohol abuse. He said he was proud of helping to plan the upcoming $18 million student recreation center.
An Indiana native, Amber graduated from Indiana University and became a captain in the Army Reserves. Before coming to KU, he worked in student affairs at Indiana and at Kent State, where he was promoted to vice president for student affairs shortly after the 1970 tragedy.
$18 million in students.
"Robinson was not an adequate teaching facility and a rec center." Ambler said.
"Building a rec center is a pretty expensive item, but it's an important part of the KU culture."
Ambler cemented many student services on campus. The Student Development Center, Services for Students with Disabilities and the Student Organizations and Leadership Development Center were all sparked by Ambler's vision.
"You become a parent almost," Ambler said.
COMING IN TOMORROW'S KANSAN
KU has showered Ambler with awards through the years, including the 1987 CLASS Award, marking the first time the University's senior class recognized a staff member in the Division of Student Affairs. But Ambler said his biggest honor was to watch students thrive.
INSIDETODAY
"Their success is truly the greatest reward for me over the past 25 years," he said.
Contact Denton at 864-4810
SPCRTS 10A
HOROSCOPES 7A
WEATHER 8A
CROSSWORD 8A
ISLAM: The challenges Lawrence Muslims have faced since the Sept. 11 attacks.
JOURNALISM: Kansan advisor Tom Eblen steps down after 15 years.
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