TODAY'S WEATHER: Scattered showers with a high of 71. SPORTS: Fatherhood slows down Andre Agassi.
TALK TO US: Contact
Kursten Phelps or Leita
Schultes at (785) 864-4810
or editor@kansan.com
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY
NOVEMBER 13,2001
ISSUE 55 VOLUME 112
Some wary about flying for holiday after crash
Airport security a concern for students flying at Thanksgiving
By Louise Stauffer Special to the Kansan
Some KU students have become anxious about flying during Thanksgiving break in light of yesterday's plane crash in Queens, N.Y., and the events of Sept. 11.
events of departure
Stephanie Launer, Chicago sophomore, said she was nervous about flying into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport., but she said that flying home was her only option.
"I can't drive and spend two days in the car," she said. "I'd definitely consider driving if I had more time. Flying is just a chance you've got to take."
Melanie Weiser, Dallas sophomore, said that yesterday's events had also caused her to worry.
"I just keep hoping and praying that it's not going to get worse as of right now," she said.
Other students plan to change their behaviors during their flights next week because of their fear of flying.
"I'm definitely not going to wear headphones during the flight," said Amy Michel, Chicago junior. "I want to be the first one to hear 'put your hands behind your head.'"
Michet, who is flying into O'Hare for Thanksgiving break, said that she was was scared, but she could do nothing about it.
Not all students are concerned about flying, however.
"I'll just do a crossword puzzle or something to keep myself busy," Michet said.
Kelley Johnson, St. Louis junior, who's flown twice since Sept. 11, said that she would not let recent events affect her trip home. She said that the only concern she had with flying was airport security.
"I don't think that the security is much better at all," she said. "I could have walked through there with a gun and not gotten caught."
Travel agencies in Lawrence said yesterday that customers had expressed little to no concern about flying during Thanksgiving break.
"We have actually had a lot of bookings at the last minute," said Marcia West, travel agent for Sunflower Travel, 800 Massachusetts St.
West said that people were trying to move forward with their lives, despite the events since Sept. 11.
the events she shows. "We'll get a few comments periodically, but nothing more," she said. "I think that family is more important to people right now than worrying about that."
Ruth Nye, manager of Adventure Travel, 544 Columbia Drive, said that they had been booking flights as usual. Her co-worker, Tricia Boeken, said that after the plane crashed yesterday, no customers had called in with cancellations or concerns. Boeken said that she had expected some calls.
"Maybe the customers are going to wait until they know what actually happened before they're going to decide what they want to do," she said.
Contact Stauffer at 864-4810
Another New York tragedy
Airplane crash kills all 255 passengers destroys homes
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — A jetliner en route to the Dominican Republic broke apart minutes after takeoff and crashed in a waterfront neighborhood yesterday, engulfing homes in flames and sowing initial fears of a new terrorist atrocity. All 255 people aboard were killed, and six others were reported missing on the ground.
ground.
"It's looking like it's not a terrorist attack," said a senior Bush administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. If there was an explosion on the plane — and many bystanders heard one — it was probably
caused by a catastrophic mechanical failure, investigators said.
Authorities found one of the two black boxes on board the 13-year-old European-made Airbus A300 and said it would be examined for clues.
American Airlines Flight 587 left Kennedy Airport at 9:14 a.m., 74 minutes late, lifting off into a clear blue sky. It went down three minutes later in the Rockaway Beach section of Queens, a middle-class neighborhood, 15 miles from Manhattan that had lost scores of its people, firefighters and financial workers among them, in the World Trade Center catastrophe just two months ago.
"I just thought, 'Oh, no, not again,'" said Milena Owens, who was putting up Thanksgiving decorations when she heard an explosion.
Furious orange flames towered above the treetops, and a plume of thick, black smoke could be seen miles away
Saud Aziz, 38, said he was raking leaves in front of his home when he looked up, spotted the plane and saw a large chunk of a wing fall off. At that point, he said, the aircraft went into a spiraling dive and set the neighborhood on fire.
"We could feel the heat," he said. "The flames were intense. Even though it was burning, it was weird because it was very quiet."
Other witnesses reported hearing an explosion and seeing an engine and other debris falling off the twin-engine jet as it came down.
An engine was found intact in a parking lot at a Texaco station, missing the gas pumps by no more than six feet; neighbors ran to the scene with garden hoses to put out the fire. Part of a wing appeared to be in Jamaica Bay, just offshore, said Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
"I don't believe there are any survivors at this point," Giuliani said. As of midafternoon, 161 bodies had been recovered, he said.
Six people, all adults, were reported missing on the ground, the mayor said. Four houses were destroyed, four were damaged, and as many as a dozen others sustained lesser damage, Giuliani said.
Roberto Valentin, a Dominican ambassador at large, spoke through tears when he said he
thought 90 percent of the passengers were Dominican; New York
SKETCHING IMPROVEMENTS
SEE CRASH PAGE 5A
Dirty rooms and old broken desks are among a few of the problems students deal with in the Art and Design Building. The students said the desks were in such bad condition that they affected the quality of drawings.
Design department in disrepair
Out-of-date classroom conditions lead students to ask for improvements
By Luke Daley Kansan staff writer
Nick Mitchell opened his locker door in one of the first-floor classrooms in the Art and Design Building and pointed to a group of lockers across from his that had no doors.
the classroom harbored old wooden desks covered with graffiti and scratches that Mitchell said made it difficult to draw straight lines on paper. A two-word profanity scrawled across one wall had a piece of aged masking tape covering it.
"That's been broken ever since I've been here," said Mitchell, a Deerfield, ill. senior, in visual communications
piece of aged making He surveyed the other classrooms and labs in the building, gesturing to broken photo equipment, shoddy chairs and dirty work areas.
These conditions, as well as problems with full-time faculty retention in the design department, have spurred students within the art and design program to ask the University administration to
take an active role to improve the educational environment.
Executive Attention
Sarah Bray, St. Louis senior, helped organize a petition for visual communications students that called for improvements to the department.
faculty members. Bray said that having Montgomery and Greene at the meeting was a step in the right direction. However, she said she hoped the administration would realize the degree of concern the students had about the dirty working conditions, lack of full-time faculty and worn desks and chairs.
The petition, which was signed by 148 visual communications students, inspired a meeting on Oct. 16. About 75 of the students attended, as well as Toni-Marie Montgomery, fine arts dean; Lois Greene, design chairwoman; and a few faculty members.
Since the meeting, Bray said that some immediate improvements had been discussed.
cussed.
She said that Montgomery and Greenem met with Patrick Emerson, coordinator for basic studies, to brainstorm about what could be done to improve the
desks and chairs. "It's just not a very suitable workplace," Bray said.
computer labs.
computer labs. Bray said that some of the improvements she heard about included a new printer, carpeting and better maintenance for computers.
"That seems like something that could be done pretty easily." Bray said. "If that was addressed, that would be a small, but very important thing that the students could see."
However, she said that so far, getting new desks didn't seem to be a priority for the administration.
Keeping the Faculty
Stephanie Tenpas, Eden Prairie, Minn., senior, studies graphic and industrial design. She said that it had been tough to create any kind of lasting mentorship with the faculty because some of her past professors no longer taught at the University.
According to the budget for the 2001 fiscal year, there were 67 paid faculty positions in the art and design departments. About $3.25 million was allocated to pay their salaries, an average of $48,500 per person.The
the University.
“It’s a really inconsistent staff,” Tenpas said. “I think they were unhappy. Salaries is a big part of that.”
SEE FACULTY PAGE 5A
Presentation gives students information on anthrax
By Matt Norton Kansan staff writer
Local health, law enforcement and emergency management representatives told about 25 people last night that information was the best way to combat anthrax.
The presentation, "Anthrax Anxiety: Medical Facts and the KU Strategy," at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union, was sponsored by Student Union Activities and the Student Senate's Student Health Advisory Board.
Advisory Board
Myra Strother, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, gave an overview of the nature and history of anthrax, how big of a problem it is and how KU health professionals would deal with any positive cases.
Strother said one of the most important things to know about anthrax was that it was easily contained.
"It is almost impossible to use as a weapon of mass destruction," Strother told the audience. "We're seeing it being used as individual criminal acts."
Chris Keary, assistant director of KU Public Safety, said the University has had an emergency plan in place since 1996 that was a guideline for situations such as natural disasters or demonstrations.
"This is a good opportunity for us to sit down and think about how we would react to the anthrax scare," Keary said.
Reilly said.
Paula Phillips, director of the Douglas County Emergency Management office, said local officials would go through a mock situation at the beginning of next year to test their ability to handle a variety of situations, including an anthrax outbreak.
Phillips said the county's emergency plan covered responsibilities of law enforcement, emergency response, medical and mental health treatment.
Jen McAllaster, Lyons senior and member of the Student Health Advisory Board, said even though the media was starting to leave the topic of anthrax, it was still an important issue.
issue.
"People still aren't sure what the facts are," McAllaster said. "Hopefully, this will help calm their fears."
INSIDETODAY
WORLD NEWS ... 6A
HOROSCOPES ... 7A
WEATHER ... 8A
CROSSWORD ... 8A
Contact Norton at 864-4810
COMING IN TOMORROW'S KANSAN
GRADUATE SCHOOL: With the economy down, are students staying in school longer?
PARKING: Read what students said at the Parking Commission's public hearing.
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.
9
-
i