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FRIDAY. OCTOBER 25, 2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
City approves parking cuts near greek houses
By Kyle Ramsey
kramsey@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Lawrence city commissioners approved an ordinance at Tuesday's commission meeting that would rezone a southern portion of Edgehill Road as no parking.
David Dunfield, vice mayor of Lawrence and commission member, said parking issues in the areas surrounding campus were problems the commission had dealt with before.
Cars will no longer be able to park along both sides of Edgehill Road near campus. The Lawrence city commission passed an ordinance yesterday that made about 270 feet on the south side of the road a no-parking zone.
"Throughout the neighborhoods that border campus, parking is an issue," he said. "This just seemed to be a case where we could find, I think, a reasonable compromise."
The cost to enact the ordinance will be relatively low, Dunfield said. He said he expected the signs marking the 270-foot no-parking zone to be the primary cost.
The decision reduces parking space for two fraternity houses and a sorority house located on the road. A parking lot is located near each house, but the space in each is not enough to serve each house's members.
John Allen, president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, 1621 Edgehill Road, said about 30 of the cars parked along Edgehill Road belonged to men in the fraternity.
Now that parking along the road has been reduced, the nearest alternative is streetside parking along Louisiana Street.
Steven Watts, a resident in the 1600 block of Edgehill Road, asked city commissioners in September to rezone the entire south side of the street.
Watts said his reason for approaching the city on the matter was not personal, but was an issue of neighborhood preservation. He said problems such as roadside litter, reckless driving, and roadside parking congestion had increased since January.
"It's not for me," he said. "It's part of maintaining neighborhoods in a place that once had 20,000 people and now has 100,000 people. I lost as many parking spaces as anybody else."
Parking along the south side of the street became congested at times and blocked Watts' driveway, he said. The stretch of rezoned roadway runs in front of Watts' residence and an adjacent house.
Although the city did not approve rezoning the entire south side of the street, it's a matter Watts would like to see revisited by the city commission.
"I continue to believe we need no parking on the south side of the street," he said.
Members of Phi Delta Theta will wait to see how the no-parking zone affects their parking situation before they seek other alternatives. In the meantime, Allen
said he hoped Watts didn't pursue rezoning the entire south side of Edgebill Road.
Allen said members of Phi Delta Theta and neighboring
greek houses picked up litter along Edgehill Road two to three times every semester.
Edgehill Road, a one-way street that allows traffic to travel
north, is the only street in that area where parking is permitted on both sides.
Edited by Matt Norton
Students to protest procedures at U.S. Army training school
By Erin Beatty
ebetty@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
While KU students plan a trip to Fort Benning, Ga., to protest the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, controversy still remains about the existence of the institution.
The institution, more commonly known as the School of the Americas, is a U.S. Army training
school that teaches Latin American soldiers and military personnel in subjects such as counter-insurgency, infantry tactics and commando operations. According to the school, more than 60,000 members of Latin American militaries have been trained at the SOA since its foundation in 1946.
Thousands of people protest the school each year, blaming deaths and human rights abuses in Latin American countries on
military personnel who have been trained at the SOA. Some protesters refer to the school as the "School of the Assassins."
KU Latin American Solidarity organizer Amanda Cott, Topeka senior, said KU students had joined the protests for at least the past four years. Cott said she was unable to attend this year's protest, but she would support them in Lawrence.
Edward Robarge. Leavenworth graduate student, is a retired Army
colonel with 15 years of experience in Latin America. Robarge was a military intelligence instructor at the school from 1976 to 1978 and believes in the school's effectiveness.
"I and those who taught with me worked hard to ensure that students left with a complete understanding of U.S. policy regarding human rights," Robarge said.
He said he taught his students to win counter insurgency battles
with respect instead of with human rights violations.
Cott and other students like Greg Seibel, Lawrence graduate student, believe the SOA should be closed. Seibel will attend his second SOA protest this November.
"It's obvious that they're training people to abuse human rights." Seibel said.
Robareg disagree and said Latin American militaries were abusing human rights long before
"It really is intellectually unjust to blame the U.S. for something that has roots in pre-U.S. involvement in the region and besmirch the reputation of so many that have tried to improve the situation there by teaching correct principles," Robarge said.
Students will leave for the protest Nov.15 and stay until Nov.17.
Edited by Chris Wintering