MONDAY,AUG.20,2001
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
City revamps bus routes, adds 12 to fleet
Added bus stops extra seating give riders more options for transportation
By Courtney Craigmile Kansan staff writer
Lawrence Transit System underwent route changes this summer, and more changes will come as the city welcomes 12 new buses.
On Aug. 6, five of the eight routes offered by the public transportation system were changed to feature better service to Cottonwood Incorporated, major retailers along 31st and Iowa streets, Haskell Indian Nations University and early morning pick-ups in North Lawrence.
"Mainly we made the changes from public input," said Karen
Rexroad, public transit administrator. Input came from the public forums since the bus service began.
The major changes were to routes three, four, five, seven and eight. The other routes were working fine, Rexroad said.
Maps of the new bus routes are available at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.; City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets; Union Pacific Visitors Center, 402 N. Second St.; and community recreation centers.
New buses will accompany these route changes.
Rexroad said the city was getting 12 new El Dorado buses to replace the 12 leased buses the city uses now. The city originally leased the buses to get the program up and running as soon as possible.
"It takes 18 months or more to
The new buses cost the city $205,975 each. They are 30-foot buses, making them 10 feet shorter than the buses KU on Wheels uses, Rexroad said. The buses have two seating options. They seat either 25 passengers or 19 passengers and two wheelchairs. The leased buses seat 16.
build a bus," Rexroad said.
Rexroad said she was unsure if the new buses and route changes would affect the number of people who use the transit system, especially because KU on Wheels would be resuming service as the changes were implemented.
Rexroad said she assumed there would be more riders, and after the routes changed, the number of people riding the bus had increased.
The new buses will also require new driver training, which will be provided by MV
Bus driver Daniel Simmons was anticipating the new buses
Transportation.
"They've been promising them for a long time, but we haven't seen them yet," Simmons said.
The new buses will be used on route eight for sure, Rexroad suid.
"That's the one that goes through KU, and we're' standing room only'on that route," she said.
The buses, coming from Chino, Calif., are expected to last 10 years. Two will arrive this month, Rexroad said. The rest are expected to arrive in October or November.
Craigmile can be reached at 864-
4810 or writer@kansan.com
<<On the Net:
www.lawrence.org/transit>>
Murder fails to halt Costa Rican study abroad
By J. R. Mendoza Kansan staff writer
The study abroad program in Costa Rica is continuing with changes this fall after the May 13 murder of Shannon Martin, a 23-year-old student.
The University of Kansas' Office of Study Abroad conducted a two-month review of safety, which included two visits to Costa Rica, interviewing students, staff, host families and government officials, said Diana Carlin, dean of graduate school and international programs.
Safety concerns stemmed from the murder of Martin, a study abroad student. Martin was on a research trip in Golfito, Costa Rica, the site of one of two study abroad programs in the country. She had participated in study abroad program on environmental studies in Golfito and lived with a host family the year before.
Lesli May, Topeka senior, said she was considering studying abroad in Europe or Costa Rica. Martin's murder worried her, though, she said.
"It makes me a little leery." May said. "But if I really wanted to go, I probably would still go."
May said she felt better that the University evaluated the program in Costa Rica.
"It makes me feel better knowing my school has gone down there to make sure students are safe and that it is taking precautions," she said. "I think wherever you go to study abroad you should be cautious."
The decision to send students to Golfito and San Jose, the sites of study abroad programs in Costa Rica, was made within three days, Carlin said. She said she consulted with people in the country, got information from the embassy and looked at security measures.
"We felt fairly conformable and were doing what we could to
ensure a safe environment," Carlin said.
This summer 14 students traveled to Golfito, and this fall 18 went.
Charles Stansifer, professor of history, was sent with the summer study abroad students for two weeks in June to ensure someone was there who knew the area. Carlin said.
Carlin said students go through an orientation before they leave and when they arrive in Costa Rica. Host families also participate to emphasize the importance of safety. The orientation includes students receiving materials about safety and health information in the country and an orientation by U.S. embassy staff.
Carlin said cultural issues were important for students studying abroad to understand. Expectations differ in other countries from the United States, she said
"We do a very good job of making students aware of cultural
issues," Carlin said. "We hadn't had major problems, but students need to understand the rest of the world doesn't behave like the U.S."
After Martin's murder, Carlin said she sent out a letter to summer and fall study abroad students about what had happened in Costa Rica. She said only one or two students opted not to go.
Carlin said she had been to Costa Rica by herself before, but Martin's murder still was a surprise.
pr
"I consider it to be a safe place," she said. "I felt very safe. This was a shock.
Martin's case is still being investigated by Costa Rican and U.S. authorities.
"We've been very open," Carlin said. "We have spent a lot of time looking at what we're doing. This could happen anywhere in the world."
Mendoza can be reached at 864-4810 or writer@kansan.com
Retake policy to benefit students in the spring
Paul Smith Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas' new course retake policy approved this summer will not benefit students until the spring 2002 semester because the policy is not retroactive.
Administrators are concerned that students who followed the issue last spring and expected implementation may have enrolled this semester to retake a course under the new provision.
"If that's what they're thinking, it's not going to work," said Richard Morrell, University registrar.
A decision by the Office of the Provost applies the new retake policy to only those classes taken this semester and thereafter. Students who planned to retake a course for a better grade this semester should consult with an academic adviser about dropping the course, Morrell said.
The new policy allows students who earn a D or F to take that course again to improve their grade. Only the grade from the course that was retaken will be figured into a student's grade point average.
"It's definitely going to help GPAs, and that was its design." Morrell said. "The downside for the students is that it's a forgive-but-not-forget policy."
The first course grade will appear alongside the retake grade on University transcripts.
A student must meet several requirements for the new policy to apply. A student must be an undergraduate or a transfer student who came to KU with less than 60 hours. Also, the original course must have been taken within the first 60 KU credit hours, or within the first semester at the University for transfers.
University approval is not required to retake a course.
but students must register with the dean of the college from which they are retaking the course by the sixth week of the semester.
Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said that college deans, in most cases, would then forward the request to the registrar's office for record keeping purposes.
"The only time we wouldn't approve it is if the student earned the D or F through academic misconduct," McCluskey-Fawcett said. "That's built into the wording of the policy."
In addition to the disqualifying cheaters, other restrictions were put into place. The policy can be invoked for no more than five classes; the same course can be retaken only once; the course must be retaken at KU; and this policy cannot be applied to any course in which a student has already passed a prerequisite course.
An older retake policy still applies to students wanting to retake a course in which they received an A, B or C grade. These students must have a dean and department chairperson's approval, and then the two grades will be averaged together to calculate the student's GPA.
The new retake policy met substantial opposition in the University Senate, where it passed by a 20-vote margin in May. Following the chancellor's approval, Tim Shaftel, an opposition leader and business professor, said there was no recourse available to its opponents.
"My hope is the value of the program is better than I thought it would be, and the disadvantages less disadvantageous," Shattel said.
Smith can be reached at 864-4810 or writer@kansan.com
LAWRENCE
The T
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The T is your best source of dependable and affordable transportation. You can travel across campus, to Downtown Lawrence, North Lawrence, or the shopping area on South Iowa Street. A Sixth Street loop serves western Lawrence and a cross-town route takes you to Wakarusa or the East Industrial Park via 23rd Street.
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Call 312.7054 for schedule
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A complementary paratransit service, the T-lift, also is available to eligible applicants. *Persons with disabilities or Medicare cards.
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