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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER14,2001
WWW.KANSAN.COM
ISSUE 56 VOLUME 112
Month-long competition leaves greeks in the dark
By Maggie Koerth Special to the Kansan
Conserving energy starts at home. Turning off a light, shutting down a computer when it's not in use, or dialing the thermostat down a couple of degrees are ways to save energy as well as money.
For fraternity and sorority members this month, doing these simple acts may win them a candlelight dinner at Coco Loco Mexican Cafe, 943 Massachusetts St.
Rachel Burger, a member of Sigma Kappa sorority and co-chair of the Greek Environmental Board, said the group was sponsoring a contest among the University of Kansas' greek houses to see which one could save the most money in energy bills.
energy bills.
"We wanted people to become conscious of how much energy they use and prove to them how much money they can save by conserving it," said Burger, Tulsa, Okla., senior.
In preparation for the contest, board members hung posters in their houses detailing how their brothers and sisters could save energy.
energy.
"I put up signs on the bathroom mirror," said Becky Anderson, Topeka sophomore and Alpha Chi Omega sorority member. "Basically, we just asked them to turn off lights in rooms they weren't in, turn off the computer when they weren't using it — things like that."
At the end of the month, all of KU's sororities and fraternities are supposed to turn in to the board a copy of their energy bills from this November and last November.
and last November.
The board will then evaluate the bills to see how much each chapter house saved compared to last year. The house that has saved the most will win the grand prize: a candlelight dinner for 100 people.
Second- and third-place winners will receive gift certificates.
Anderson said her house was showing a good response to the contest.
test. "I came in one morning and found several girls brushing their teeth in the dark," she said.
dark, she said.
The board is hoping that by encouraging these kind of activities for a month, they can create habits that will last.
Burger said the group brought in Russ Rudy, director of the Heart of America Green Builder Program, last semester to speak about changes that could be made to the Greek houses to make them more energy efficient.
She said the idea for the contest came from Rudy's speech.
"A lot of the houses are older and not in the best energy-saving shape," Burger said. "The contest is something you can do now and the building changes are something you can do later."
Anderson said she wasn't sure if practices like shutting the lights off in every empty room would last past the contest. Even if they don't, however, she said she still believed something good was being done.
"Even if it's only for one month every year, there is still an impact being made." Anderson said.
Contact Koerth at 864-4810
Forum addresses parking
Public discussion lets students and faculty air their complaints
By Luke Daley Kansan staff writer
Daniel Waters was one of about 60 people who vented frustrations to the parking department last night during the first-ever public forum about parking on campus.
public Wichita junior stood before about a dozen members of the KU parking department and the parking commission at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union to ask how his unique problem could be solved.
could be solved. Waters' car was towed from one of the parking meter spaces near Memorial Stadium in early October because the meter was expired.
When he went to the parking department afterward, he said they literally tore up his yellow student parking permit because he had an expired handicap permit in his car when it was towed.
According to the parking departments' rules and regulations, a person's parking privileges may be revoked for the "display of forged, altered, lost or stolen parking authorization stickers or hangtags."
authorized station. But Waters said the handicapped permit was on the floor of his car, and was not displayed anywhere in his windows.
Waters said his car was then towed a second time from the parking garage adjacent to Allen Fieldhouse, even though he was not using a permit and planned to pay for parking.
"It turned out that they had revoked my permit to park on campus completely." Waters said.
Waters said he was not eligible for
another permit the rest of the year. He also said both of his parking tickets were on appeal.
on appeal. Don Kearns, director of parking services, said not much could be done about Waters' situation unless the parking rules were changed.
were changed. Kearns also listened to several other frustrated students, faculty and staff about their problems with parking on campus, including increased parking fees, availability of spaces, illegal parking in restricted areas and selling more permits than there are spaces available.
About two-thirds of the people there were faculty or staff.
Kearns said the open forum was a step in the right direction.
in the right direction. "I think that this is the best thing to come from parking in a long time," he said. "Things are not perfect, and I'll be the first to admit that."
Ronald Fowler, equipment operator for facility operations, told the panel he didn't think it was legal to oversell the number of permits.
Kearns said that the decision to sell excess permits came from Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
"We oversell. There's no question about that," Kearns said, adding that he didn't think it was illegal.
Kearns then addressed a question about whether it would be possible to add parking spaces to the garage located west of GSP-Corbin.
He said it was impossible.
It's one way for post-game traffic
He said it was impressive. "It was a cheap design and we have a lot of maintenance problems," Kearns said. "I hold my breath every year hoping that it won't slide down the hill."
Contact Daley at 864-4910
Campus plan directs mobs of vehicles toward 23rd and Iowa streets
By Courtney Craigmile Kansan staff writer
Officer Steve Brull of the KU Public Safety Office directs traffic on Naismith Drive after last night's game against Fort Hays State. Basketball game traffic can cause headaches for anyone trying to get across campus.
Traffic on campus is a constant concern, but after a men's basketball game, the situation seems to get worse.
The KU Public Safety Office has developed a plan to direct traffic from campus to Iowa and 25rd streets after a game, said Maj. Chris Keary of the KU Public Safety Office.
"The general emphasis of post-game traffic direction is to get all the vehicles that came to the games out as quickly and efficiently as possible." Keary said. "But Allen Fieldhouse is not in the best possible place to get people out quickly."
He said the plan the Public Safety Office used was developed several years ago. But every year, the Public Safety Office revises the plan based on how effective it was the past year.
year. He said that the office was directly in charge of making any changes, but that it did take input from the KU parking department and the Athletics Department.
Lawrence police Sgt. Mike Patrick said the Lawrence Police Department directed traffic at 19th Street and Naismith Drive and 19th and Iowa streets because those intersections were under the city's jurisdiction.
The way the Public Safety Office plan works now, cars cannot travel on 19th Street between Iowa Street and Naismith Drive, nor on Naismith Drive between 19th Street and Schwegler Drive. This makes it hard to drive through campus, especially because some roads
that normally carry two-way traffic are converted to two lanes of one-way traffic on game nights.
"We encourage people to avoid this area on game nights if they can." Keary said. "It's best if they can either wait 20-30 minutes until the game traffic clears or just take the long way around."
But Dave Mier, Overland Park junior, had a test on campus last night for his business law class during the men's basketball game against Fort Hays State University, and couldn't avoid driving on campus.
"Parking and traffic is just ridiculous on game nights," Miersaid. "I have a parking pass and it does me no good because
For a map of game-day traffic flow see page 3A
all the lots are reserved. But I can't even get to those lots because the streets are closed.
"They need a better system," he said.
Contact Craigmile at 864-4810
Memorial service helps students recall friend
By Brent Briggeman Kansan staff writer
Friends remembered Robert "Justin" Aycock for his tight jeans and cowboy hats last night at a memorial service at the Kansas Room in the Kansas Union. But most of all, they remembered his love of music, his willingness to listen and his ear-to-ear smile.
Aycock, a 20-year-old Dallas sophomore, died Nov. 5 at his Lawrence apartment. Lawrence police determined he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
More than 150 people shared their memories during the hour-long ceremony.
focus on Aycock's death, but rather gave friends an opportunity to celebrate his life.
of a self-injected gambitse
Last night's emotional ceremony didn't
"We wanted to give his friends a chance to get together and remember the good times we had with him," said Grant Jones, Prairie Village senior and president of Phi Delta Theta, the fraternity Aycock pledged last year.
Robert'Justin Avcock
pleaded his year Jones worked with Jenalee Berk, Dallas junior and longtime friend of Aycock, to organize the ceremony.
"I was thrilled at how many people came out tonight," Berk said. "Most of us didn't have a chance to go to Dallas for the funeral, so this gave us a chance to celebrate his life."
Berk and Jones worked with Richard Johnson, dean of students, to coordinate the ceremony. Johnson closed the service, offering his condolences and encouraging friends to embrace Aycock's life and the impact he made on theirs.
Aycock's family did not attend, but they sent a letter thanking the students for their friendship and support.
personal experiences with him. Music and a slide show followed before Johnson closed the evening, inviting everyone to a reception at the Malott Room in the Union.
Music was an appropriate way to celebrate Aycock's life, considering that is what most friends remembered best about him. They remembered how he would attract crowds to his room as he played his guitar, treating friends to the latest songs he was writing.
The ceremony opened with friends taking turns recalling Aycock and their
Contact Briggeman at 864-4810
INSIDETODAY
COMING IN TOMORROW'S KANSAN
U.S. NEWS ... 2A
HILLTOPICS ... 8A
WEATHER ... 6A
CROSSWORD ... 6A
SPORTS: Kansas volleyball team prepares for a Wednesday showdown against Texas.
COLUMN: Don't forget to be nice to the Burrito King guys.
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 25 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at 119 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
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