Wednesday
November 13,2002
Vol.113. Issue No.58
todays weather 64° Tonight: 42°
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Tell us your news Call Jay Krall, Brooke Hesler or Kyle Ramsey at 864-4810
Simien sits, Niang laces up in victory against Ichabods p.1B
Second City Sensation
John Nowak/Kansan
Second City Comedy Troupe members (from left) Bridget Kloss, Craig Uhlir, and Pip Lilly ham it up during a skit. The traveling comedy group performed last night at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union.
Comedy show pushes the right buttons to wow the crowd
By Louise Stauffer
IstauFFER@kansan.com
Kansan writer
The hardest thing about sketch comedy is knowing which buttons to push, and which not to push, Joe Grazulis, music director for The Second City, Chicago's legendary comedy theatre, said.
"Every audience reacts differently," he said.
The group seemed to push all the right buttons last night, as they performed for an audience of about 220 at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. The audience roared with laughter as actress Bridget Kloss, in character as a crotchety school teacher, picked members of the crowd to sing excerpts from the song "America the Beautiful." As one audience member looked to the floor in embarrassment, Kloss rose to the occasion.
"Look at me," she said, "I'm hot in a Golden Girls-way."
As a way to keep her act fresh through months of performing, Kloss said she drew inspiration from the audience. She said the most difficult thing
see SECOND CITY on page 8A
Town hall meeting defines diversity
By George Schulz gschulz@kansan.com kansan staff writer
The moderator of a "town hall" meeting on diversity in Hashinger Hall last night asked the group of gathered students what was the perfect environment to raise a child in.
There was a pause before Collins Wade, Monroe. La., junior answered.
"I would like my children to grow up in a room like this," he said.
The group attending the meeting was diverse — African-American, Jewish, Hispanic, Native American, gay and lesbian.
The meeting was scheduled as part of Hate Out Week, a week-long celebration of diversity sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Multicultural Resource Center.
The group spent the meeting, which began at 7:00 p.m., first debating the def-
see MEETNG on page 8A
John Nowak/Kansan
Students gather at Haskinger Hall for a town hall meeting on the subject of diversity. The meeting was scheduled last night as part of Hate Out Week, a week-long celebration of diversity sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Multicultural Resource Center.
Basketball games complicate parking
Basketball fans park in Lot 90 before last night's game against Washburn. Students with a yellow parking pass should move their cars before 5:30 to avoid receiving a ticket or being towed.
Courtnav Kuhian/Kansas
By Jenna Goepfert
jgoepertfet@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
On game nights, parking lots near Allen Fieldhouse are reserved for basketball season ticket holders or those willing to pay a $10 fee, making parking spaces readily available. Students who own yellow permits will only be allowed to park in those lots until 5:30 p.m.
For the seven weeknight home games this basketball season, fans will have parking priority over students going to class or the library.
Tickets for cars that aren't moved before 5:30 p.m. on game nights are $20 and towing is the parking department's last option, said Donna Hultine, director of parking services.
"It's a heated topic for me," said Chris Laird, Goddard senior, who has a yellow parking pass. Laird has an ROTC class several nights a week that meets until at least 7 p.m.
"We can't leave the colonel's class to move our cars." he said. "It's disrespectful."
Students have complained about the policy.
He said he got a ticket last year but was thankful he had never been towed.
Hultine said the department gave students some
time after 5:30 to move their cars before towing.
She said complaints were frequent at the beginning of basketball season because it caught students off-guard, but trailed off as the semester went on.
Hultine said fans had to pay for the privilege as well. She said members of the Williams Fund, a program for donors who help fund athletic scholarships, can purchase a season parking permit for $140. Yellow parking passes for students cost $85 annually.
Hultine said the University parking committee was exploring new options for student parking. Last night, Lot 34 east of the Computer Center was restricted solely for academic use.
The parking department will study the usage of Lot 34 throughout the basketball season. Last night's trial was in response to a student proposal asking the committee to protect parking for faculty, staff and student use.
Erika Massow, St. Louis senior, has a night class in Murphy Hall. She said she ordinarily walked to school, but didn't want to walk at night.
"I think it's a good idea but it depends where you're located on campus," Massow said of the trial lot. "But if I needed to be at Murphy and had to walk all the way down there, I wouldn't do it."
Edited by Sarah Hill
Allocation helps GRAs pay tuition
New program benefits graduate researchers advances University
By Erin Beaty
ebeatty@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
For the first time in KU history, a tuition assistance program for GRAs will be offered.
Paying tuition will be much easier next semester for 300 graduate research assistants at the University of Kansas.
The tuition assistance will be possible because of an allocation of $750,000 from the $8.6 million in revenue generated through the tuition increase this semester.
Vice Provost Richard Givens said the decision to assist GRAs was made partly because the competition for top-rate graduate students was strong, and most highly rated schools provided tuition assistance for their graduate students in doctoral programs.
"We constantly hear from our faculty that their PhD programs have trouble recruiting top graduate students because they get better offers from other schools," Givens said. "Among the items in those offers is the tuition assistance."
He said tuition assistance was already provided for GTAs and the new program would make it possible to assist GRAs as well. There are more than 600 GRAs at the University. While some GRAs' tuition is paid for by the grants that employ them, others have to pay their own "We constantly hear from our faculty that their PhD programs have trouble recruiting top graduate students because they get better offers from other schools." Richard Givens Vice provost
Nicole Lynn Bowers, Lawrence graduate student and research assistant in molecular biology, said the assistance would not affect her because her tuition was already covered by grants. She said it would be a helpful change for other students who had to pay their own tuition.
"I think it's great because it's hard enough to get through school doing your research," she said. "And graduate tuition is pretty expensive, especially if you're out of state."
KU Center for Research officials estimated that the new tuition assistance program would help about 300 GRAs whose tuition is not covered by grants.
Erin Thaler, Marietta, Ga., graduate student and research assistant in education administration, did not know about the University's plans to financially assist GRAs, but was pleased to hear about it.
"We deserve it — we're already doing a lot of work here, and paying tuition on top of it," she said.
Provost David Shulenburger said the tuition assistance program would benefit both graduate researchers and the University by attracting high-quality graduate students and helping KU progress toward its goal of ranking among the top 25 public research institutions.
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- Edited by Katie Teske
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